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LIBRARY 

OF      'MIK 

Theological  Seminary 

PRINCETON,  N.  J.        jk'gTC 

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A     DONATION 


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PUBLISHED   AND    FOR    SALE 

BY  ANTHONY  FINLEY, 

At  the  tTV.  E.  corner  of  Chesnut  8^  Fourth  streBtSf 

PHILADELPHIA; 

(Of  whom  may  be  had  at  an  hour's  notice,  any  Book  or  Books  which  are 
to  be  procured  in  the  city.) 

A  DICTIONARY  OF  SELECT  AND    POPULAR  QUOTATIONS, 

which  are  in  constant  use ;  taken  from  the  Latin,  French,  Spanish  and 
Italian  Languages,  (also  including  a  complete  coUectio7i  of  i^AVi  maxims) 
translated  into  English,  with  illustrations,  historical  and  idiomatic.  Third 
American  edition,  corrected,  with  copious  additions.  $1  50.  The  informa- 
tion this  volume  affords  is  not  to  be  had  elseiuhere.  ^ 
O"  On  the  fourth  page  will  be  found  a  specimen  of  the  work. 

The  PRESBYTERIAN  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH— The  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  :  contain- 
ing the  Confession  of  Faith,  the  Catechisms,  and  the  Directory  for  the 
worship  of  God  ;  together  with  the  Plan  of  Government  and  Discipline,  as 
amended  and  ratified  by  the  General  Assembly  at  their  session  in  May 
1821.     Prices  |(1  25,  and  75  cts. 

The  REFUGE,  By  the  author  of  "The  Guide  to  Domestic  Happiness." 
Third  Amer  ican  edition  $1  00. 

Mr.  Finley, 

The  little  volume  entitled  "  The  Refuge,"  is,  in  my  judgment,  excel- 
lent. The  subject  is  the  justification  of  a  sinner  by  the  grace  of  God, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ.  The  work  is  in  the  form  of  let- 
ters, addressed  to  a  young  female  under  serious  concern  of  mind,  about 
the  salvation  of  her  soul.  It  comprises  much  in  a  small  compass,  well 
arranged  and  happily  expressed  ;  and  I  scarcely  know  a  work  more  likely 
to  be  useful  to  persons  who  are  seriously  inquiring  what  they  must  do  to 
be  saved.  It  is  manifestly  the  author's  aim  to  direct  the  awakened  soul 
to  Christ  crucified,  risen,  and  exalted  to  give  repentance  and  remission  of 
sins  as  its  only  Refuge. 

Respectfully  yours,  ifclc. 

WILLIAM  NEIL,  D.  D. 
Pastor  of  the  Sixth  Presbyterian  Church,  Philatl-, 


2 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  AT  PRINCE- 
TON. "A  Brief  Account  of  the  Rise,  Progress,  and  Present  State  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
at  Princeton,  N.  J.  including  the  Constitution  and  Regulations  of  the 
Seminary ;  together  with  a  catalogue  of  those  who  have  been  members, 
and  a  list  of  the  present  Officers  and  Students. 

This  little  volume  is  intended  to  give  a  succinct  and  clear  account  of 
the  NATURE  and  design  of  this  institution,  which  are  yet  but  imper- 
fectly known  in  many  sections  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. — The  price  is 
fifty  cents,  from  which  a  liberal  deduction  will  be  made  to  those  who  pur- 
chase a  number  of  copies. 

LETTERS  TO  A  YOUNG  LADY,  on  a  variety  of  Useful  Subjects : 
calculated  to  improve  the  heart,  to  form  the  manners,  and  to  enlighten  the 
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fine  paper,  with  plates.     Various  bindings,  from  $1  25  to  2  75. 

It  would  be  superfluous  at  the  present  time  to  say  any  thing  in  com- 
mendation of  this  work — that  it  has  passed  through  seven  editions  in  the 
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few  books  which  parents  can  put  into  the  hands  of  their  daughters  with 
equal  advantage — the  letters  are  written  in  a  pleasing  and  interesting 
style,  and  convey  the  soundest  advice  on  the  most  important  subjects. 

REMARKS  on  the  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  for  the  Truth  of  Re- 
vealed  Religion.  By  T.  Erskine,  of  Edinburgh.  50  cts. 

THE  THEORY  OF  MORAL  SENTIMENTS.  By  Dr.  Adam  Smith, 

Author  of  "  The  Wealth  of  Nations."  Handsomely  bound.  $3  50. 

Extract  from  "  An  Account  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Dr.  Adam  Smith., 
by  Dugald  Stewart,  F.  R.  S.  Edinburgh." 

Speaking  of  Dr.  Smith's  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments, he  says — "No 
work,  undoubtedly,  can  be  mentioned,  ancient  or  modern,  which  exhibits 
so  complete  a  view  of  those  facts,  with  respect  to  our  moral  perception, 
which  it  is  one  great  object  of  this  branch  of  science  to  refer  to  their 
•reneral  laws  ;  and,  upon  this  account,  it  well  deserves  the  careful  study 
of  all  whose  taste  leads  them  to  prosecute  similar  inquiries." 

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guson, L.  L.  D.  &c.   Second  American  edition.  $3  50. 

THE  ADVANTAGE  AND  NECESSITY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN 
REVELATION,  shown  from  the  State  of  Religion  in  the  Ancient  Heathen 
world,  &c.  By  John  Leland,  D.  D.  Author  of  a  "View  of  the  Deistical 

Writers."  2  vols.  8vo.    |6  50. 

REFLECTIONS  ON  PRAYER,  and  on  the  Errors  which  may  pre- 
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cts.  bound  37  cents. 

MEMOIRS  and  REMAINS  of  the  late  Rev.  CHARLES  BUCK,  au- 
thor of  "A  Theological  Dictionary,"  "Miscellanies,"  &c.  containing  Co- 
pious Extracts  from  his  Diary,  and  interesting  Letters  to  his  Friends,  inter- 


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racter and  Works.  By  John  Styles,  D.  D.   Boards  $1  25,  bound  $1  50. 

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88  cents,  bound  $1  12^. 

AN  EPITOME  OF  ANCIENT  GEOGRAPHY,  Sacred  and  Profane, 
being  an  abridgment  of  D'Anville's  Geography,  with  Improvements  from 
various  other  authors  ;  by  which  the  omissions  of  D'Anville  are  supplied, 
and  his  errors  corrected.  Accompanied  with  an  account  of  the  Origin  and 
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System  of  Mythology,"  &c.  $1  50. 

A  CLASSICAL  ATLAS,  elegantly  coloured,  containing  a  series  of  Se- 
lect Maps  from  Wilkinson^ s  Atlas  Classica  and  La  Sage's  Historical  At!as, 
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edition,  3  vols.  Plates,  $3. 

CHARLES  BELL'S  ENGRAVINGS  OF  THE  ARTERIES,  illustra- 
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explanations,  .JR  50.  ' 

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with  copious  explanations,  Quarto,  .f  6  50. 

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bert Wallace  Johnson,  M.  D.  Second  American  edition,  corrected  and  in.- 
proved,  $1. 

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Rush,  5th  edition,  2  vols.  .^-7. 

ZOONOMIA,  by  Dr.  Darwin,  4th  edition,  2  vols.  .57. 


5j)edmen  of^/ie  "Dictionary  of  Quotations,"  mcnftoned 

on  the  first  page. 

Lnpendam  et  expendar.  Lat.  "I  will  spend  and  be  spent,"  in  pursuit  of 
this  object. 

Imperium  in  Imperio.  Lat.  "  A  government  existing  under  another  go- 
vernment." This  is  the  relation  in  which  each  of  our  States  stands  to  the 
Federal  government. 

Impotentia  excusat  legem.  Lat.  law  maxim.  "  Impotency  does  away 
the  law" — men  in  prison,  idiots,  and  lunatics,  are  excused,  fiom  their  ina- 
bility, for  the  non-performance  of  acts,  which  the  law  requires  of  others. 

Indocti  discant,  ament  meminisse periti.  Lat.  "  The  ignorant  may  learn, 
and  the  learned  improve  their  recollection." — This  is  a  motto  frequently 
prefixed  to  works  of  a  general  and  useful  tendency. 

In  extenso.  Lat.  "  At  large — in  full." 

Ingenuas  didicisse  fideliter  nrtes 

Einollit  mores,  nee  shut  esseferos.  Lat.  Ovid. 

"  To  have  studied  carefully  the  liberal  arts  is  the  surest  method  of  re- 
fining the  grossness,  and  subduing  the  harshness  of  the  human  mind." 

In  perpetuam  rei  memoriam,    Lat.  "  To  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the 

thing." 

In  statu  quo.  Lat.  "  In  the  state  in  which."  The  condition  of  any 
nation,  as  to  territorial  possessions,  at  any  previous  time — with  ante  hel- 
ium, before  the  war  commenced. 

In  terroreni.  Lat.  "  In  terror" — as  a  warning. 

Je  lie  sais  quoi.  Fr.  "  I  know  not  what."  Used  to  express  something  that 
will  not  admit  of  description. 

Jew  de  mots.  Fr.  "  A.  play  on  words."  Jeii  <i'  esprit.  "  A  witticism." 

Judex  dumnatur  cum  nocens  absolvitur,  Lat.  "  The  judge  is  found  guilty 
when  a  criminal  is  acquitted." 

Jure  divino.  Lat.  "  By  divine  right." 

Judieandum  est  legibus  non  exemplis.  Lat.  law  maxim.  "  The  judgment 
must  be  pronounced  from  law,  not  from  precedents." 

Jus  gentium.  Lat.  "  The  law  of  nations." 

La  maladie  sans  maladie.  Fr.  "  The  disease  without  a  disease" — the 
hypochondriasis. 

Lapsus  lingiKe.  Lat.  "A  slip  of  the  tongue" — an  error  in  speaking. 
Laudum  immensa  cupido  Lat.  "  The  insatiate  thirst  for  applause." 


A.  F.  Has  constantly  for  sale  Theological,  Medical, 
JVIIsrellaneous,  Classical  and  School  Books  of  every  descrip- 
tion, and  on  very  liberal  terms. 


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REMARKS  ^    /^J^ 


AND 

CONFESSIONS  OF  FAITH. 

IN  THE 
IN  TWO  PARTS. 


BY  JOTTN  M.  DUNCAN, 

Paator  of  the  Presbyterian  Cluircli,  Tammany  Street,  Baltimore. 


Anil  yet  show  I  unto  yoii  a  more  excellent  Way.  1  Cor.  \%  31. 
He  the  only  Herctie,  who  eoiints  all  Heretics  but  himself. — 3IiltoB. 
Historic  fact  is  not  Divine  institution.— Miller. 
Let  us  not  lay  aside  charity  to  maintain  faith Ganganelli. 


JSaltimore: 

PUBLISHED    BV    CUSHING    &,    JEWETT. 

WM.   WOODDY,   PRINTER. 
1825. 


-^ 


^  « 


DISTRICT  OF  aiARYLAN"D,ss. 

BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  that  on  tins  twenty-sixth  day  of  March,  rnfhefi;ity. 
ninth  j'ear  of  the  Independence  of  the  Ui.ited  States  of  America,  Jo.^cphCiishingaiid 
Joseph  Jewett,  of  the  said  District,  have  deposited  in  this  office,  tlie  title  of  a  book, 
the  risht  whereof  they  claim  as  proprietors  in  the  words  following,  to  wit; 

"Remarks  on  tlic  rise,  use.  and  unlawfulness  of  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith, 
in  the  Church  of  God;  in  two  parts,  by  John  M.  Duncan,  Pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  Tammany  Street,  Baltimore.  And  yet  shew  I  unto  you  a  more 
excellent  way.  1  Cor.  1'2,  31.  He  the  only  Heretic,  who  counts  all  Heretics  but 
himself — Milton.  Historic  fact  is  not  Divine  institution. — Miller.  Letusnoiiay 
aside cAur%  to  maintain /(uiA. — Ganganelli." 

In  conformity  to  an  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled  "An  act 
for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and 
books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein 
mentioned;"  and  also  to  the  act,  entitled,  "An  act  supplementary  to  the  act,  en- 
titled 'An  act  for  the  cncnuragcment  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  niajis, 
charts,  and  books  to  the  authors  anil  proprietors  of  such  copies  during  the  times 
therein  mentioned,'  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing, 
engraving,  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints." 

^  PHILIP  MOORE, 

Clerk  of  the  District  nf  Maryland. 


DEDICATION. 


The  Author  most  respectfully  and  affection- 
ately inscribes  this  little  volume  to  Students  of 
Theology,  and  to  young  Ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  America.  The  varied  interests  of  the 
Church  of  God  are  presently  to  be  committed  to 
their  hands,  and  great  confidence  will  be  placed 
in  their  integrity.  The  country  which  gave 
them  birth,  and  which  has  guaranteed  to  them 
the  liberty  of  the  most  free  and  enlarged  inquiry, 
occupies  a  moral  position  on  a  most  command- 
ing eminence.  They  may  be  the  means  of  great 
good,  or  the  instruments  of  great  mischief — for 
their  opportunities  are  splendid  and  numerous; 
and  the  present  moment  demands  much  vigour  of 
thought,  acuteness  of  observation,  importunity 
in  prayer,  biblical  simplicity,  patience  and  per- 
severance in  elibrt.  Let  them  be  careful  that 
they  do  not  fall  below  their  own  level,  and  dis- 
appoint the  expectations  of  all  who  love  the 
prosperity  of  the  American  Churches,  and  who 
long  to  see    the    gospel    diifusing  its  blessings 

throughout  THE  AVORLU. 


This  offering  is  not  made  to  them  ^vithollt 
deep  solicitude,  and  an  anxious  prayer,  that  the 
Father  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,  would 
most  abundantly  qualify  them  to  sustain  the  high, 
but  delightful  responsibilities,  which  they  are  so 
soon  to  assume.  Their  fathers  are  going  to 
their  rest:  all  the  v/orld  is  in  commotion;  or,  if 
not  roused,  is  waiting  in  awful  suspense  for  what 
TO-MORROw  may  bring  forth.  The  human  mind 
is  in  search  of  something  which  it  has  not  yet 
learned  to  define: — It  is  the  simplicity  of  the 
GOSPEL  OF  CHRIST.  And  to  whom  shall  man- 
kind look,  if  the  ministers  of  the  son  of  god 
have  no  message  to  deliver,  nor  any  evangelical 
scheme  to  substantiate,  by  divine  authority? 

GET  wisdom;  get  understanding. 

LET  NO  MAN  DESPISE  THY  YOUTH. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  public  have  already  been  informed,  that 
during  the  last  year  I  was  called  upon  to  deliver 
a  Discourse  before  the  Directors  and  Students  of 
the  Theological  Seminary,  at  Princeton.  It  was 
necessary  that  the  discourse  should  be  appropri- 
ate to  the  occasion;  and,  as  it  is  believed,  ad- 
dressed particularly  to  the  Students.  Such  an 
occasion  is  always  a  solemn  one,  and  its  exercises 
may  be  followed  by  the  most  interesting  and  im- 
portant consequences.  Paul  never  spake  in  more 
awful  tones  than  in  the  last  charge  which  he  de- 
livered to  the  Elders  of  Ephesus;  "Take  heed, 
therefore,"  said  he,  "unto  yourselves,  and  to  all 
the  dock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made 
you  overseers,  to  feed  the  church  of  God,  which 
he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood."  Nor 
docs  he  ever  appear  more  deeply  affected,  than 
when  he  forewarns  those  very  Elders  of  the  un- 
happy occurrences  which  would  shortly  take 
place  among  themselves.  "For  I  know  this,"  he 
adds,  "that  after  my  departing,  shall  grievous 
wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock; 
also  of  your  ovv^n  selves  shall  men  arise,  speak- 

I* 


VI 

ing  perverse  things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after 
them:  Therefore  watch,  and  remember,  tliat  by 
the  space  of  three  years  I  ceased  not  to  warn 
every  one  of  you,  night  and  day,  with  tears." 
That  man  is  thrown  into  similar  circumstances 
with  this  magnanimous  Apostle,  who  is  called 
to  address  the  rising  ministry  of  his  own  age,  on 
the  nature  and  importance  of  those  relations 
which  they  sustain  to  the  church  of  God.  Such 
is  the  situation  of  every  Director  of  the  Semina- 
ry, who  appears  to  deliver  the  semi  annual  ser- 
mon at  Princeton.  Of  all  audiences  that  can 
ever  be  summoned  to  listen  to  his  instructions, 
he  has  before  him  then,  one  of  the  most  peculiar 
and  interesting;  and  he  should  feel  as  though,  for 
the  time  being,  he  was  constituted  their  over- 
seer by  the  Holy  Ghost  He  who  can  trifle  with, 
or  lightly  esteem,  such  responsibilities,  or  who 
can  bring  in  any  unhallowed  motive  to  preside 
over  their  discharge,  had  better  take  care  how  he 
consents  to  assume  them.  They  are  high,  holy, 
and  eventful. 

I  believe  that  I  did,  in  some  good  measure, 
tmderstand  and  feel  both  the  value  and  the 
delicacy  of  the  exercises  which  the  appointment 
prescribed ;  and  did  honestly  endeavour  to  fulfil 
the  duty  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  and  to  express 
a  proper  and  tender  concern  for  those  young 
men,  whom,  for  the  first^  and  perhaps  for  the 
last^  time,  I  was  addressing  in  the  name  of  our 
common  Master,  and  on  behalf  of  a  redeemed 
church  and  a  dying  world.  It  appears,  however, 
that  the  discourse  then  delivered,  had  some  of- 


Vll 


fensive  peculiarities  about  it;  peculiarities  which 
have  procured  for  it  the  censure  of  some  aged 
ministers,  who  have  risen  in  their  might,  and 
with  very  strong  feeling,  to  couiiteract  its  bane- 
ful influence.  And  if  heretical  it  was,  they  had 
done  right  to  express  their  disapprobation  of  its 
anti-scriptural  principles  in  a  firm,  decisive,  and 
dignified  manner;  but  if  its  doctrines  were  all 
true,  consistent  with  the  word  of  God,  and  ap- 
propriate to  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  delivered,  it  becomes  them  to  have  a  very 
good  reason  to  render,  for  attempting  to  wound 
the  feelings  of  an  unoffending  brother,  who  had 
courage  enough  conscientiously  to  do,  what  he 
thought,  his  duty. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  both  necessary  and  proper 
to  explain  the  motives  and  views  w^hich  animated 
the  bosom  of  the  Preacher;  as  men  very  often 
appear  excessively  fond  of  sifting  gach  other's 
motives,  and  unwilling  to  concede  that  there  is 
any  thing  right,  where  it  may  be  suspected  that 
there  is  any  thing  wrong  If  so,  no  disposition 
is  cherished  to  withhold  them  from  public  in- 
spection. They  were  all  carefully  and  consci- 
entiously formed;  and  created  deeper  anxiety 
in  no  bosom  than  in  that  which  produced, 
and  is  not  now  ashamed  to  avow,  them.  They 
are  the  following: 

1.  I  believed  what  was  said  to  be  truth;  that 
every  proposition  advanced  was  abundantly  visi- 
ble in  the  passage  of  scripture  which  had  been 
chosen;  and  that  each  particular  illustration, 
under  each  particular  proposition,  was  just,  re- 


Vlll 

spectful,  affectionate,  and  easily  understood. — 
The  contrary  may  have  been  insinuated;  but  it 
has  not  been  proved. 

2.  I  believed  what  w^as  said  to  be  truth  ap- 
iwopriale  to  the  occasion.  The  circumstances  of 
the  ministerial  office  were,  in  a  fair  and  honour- 
able manner,  disclosed  to  those  who  were  very 
soon  to  be  inducted  into  that  office.  Creeds 
and  Confessions  of  Faith,  even  supposing  them  to 
be  what  they  are  so  confidently  represented  to 
be,  yet  as  they  are  now  used,  have  a  desolating 
effect  upon  a  young  mind,  from  which  it  can  be 
redeemed  only  by  the  simple  study  of  the  scrip- 
tures; and  church  courts,  even  admitting  their 
divine  warrant,  yet  by  their  abuse  of  power,  are 
bold  and  domineering  enough  to  frighten  and 
discourage  any  youthful  spirit  that  seeks  the  spi- 
ritual weal  of  mankind.  It  was  therefore  thought 
proper  to  proclaim  on  this  subject  "a  plea  for  mi- 
nisterial liberty."  The  ideas,  which  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  now  cherishes  concerning  the  West- 
minster Confession  of  Faith,  are  very  different 
from  those  which  were  admitted,  when  that  book 
was  composed,  even  by  its  authors;  and  an  in- 
tention to  resist  the  encroachments  of  human 
authority,  constituting  its  own  laws  a  test  of  min- 
isterial character,  rather  than  the  word  of  God, 
is  not  disowned. 

3.  I  thought  that,  holding  the  opinions  on  the 
present  state  of  religious  society  which  the  dis- 
course unfolds,  an  obligation  was  thereby  created 
to  declare  them  to  those  who  were  most  deeply 
interested  in  them,  that  they  might  judge   for 


IX 

themselves;  and  tliat,  instead  of  blindly  pursu- 
ing a  course  which  they  had  not  deliberately  in- 
vestigated, they  might  carefully  examine,  and 
most  profoundly  feel,  what  was  passing  every  day 
before  their  eyes.  It  was  moreover  supposed, 
that  this  declaration  must  be  made  on  the  very 
spot  where  I  had  been  placed  by  the  Providence 
of  God,  and  in  the  midst  of  those  who  were  Fa- 
thers and  Brclkren.  Would  not  strangers  have 
thought  any  interference  with  them,  on  similar 
principles,  officious  and  imprudent;  and  very  po- 
litely have  bid  me  attend  to  the  concerns  of  the 
reW^ion^  family  to  which  I  belonged?  The  idea, 
that  a  man,  who  has  something  to  tell,  which  he 
appreherids  to  be  scriptural  truth,  and  which  he 
fears  his  associates  do  not  like  to  hear,  must  cut 
himself  loose  from  his  social  relations,  belongs  to 
the  dark  ages,  when  civil  power  reigned  over  the 
human  conscience;  or  when  an  inquisitor's  sen- 
tence would  quickly  and  effectually  determine 
the  fate  of  an  independent  ecclesiastic.  Minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  must  not  talk  so  in  these 
days:  ecclesiastical  philology  has  been  great- 
ly changed ;  and  we  nmst  now  talk  to  one  ano- 
ther like  freemen  of  the  Lord. 

Such  were  the  views  sustained  throughout 
the  Discourse;  and  that  without  tlie  smallest  in- 
tention of  hurling  any  man's  feelings,  or  chal- 
lenging any  other  Director  of  the  board,  or  any 
Professor  of  the  institution,  to  controversy.  Not 
one  of  the  principles  discussed  has  been  denied, 
not  even  by  those  who  felt  tliemselves  called 
upon  to  enter  the  lists  with  its  author;  but  in- 


Terences  of  a  most  serious  character  liav'e  been 
drawn,  which  must  be  admitted,  or  the  princi- 
ples themselves  must  be  controverted,  or  these 
good  brethren  have  not  reasoned  fairly.  The 
deduction  of  the  inferences  is  a  work  of  their 
own;  and  under  such  auspices  the  following  re- 
marks are  committed  to  the  press;  yet  the  public 
must  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  those  very  in- 
ferences are  conceded  and  justified.  All  this 
w^as  fully  apprehended.  Religious  prejudice  is 
no  novelty  in  our  world:  and  that  it  is  both  forci- 
ble and  unfeeling,  is  a  characteristic  of  its  ope- 
rations, which  every  man  may  learn  from  the 
tears  and  blood  that  have  so  freely  flowed  in 
ages  past.  All  the  excitement  which  has  been 
produced,  only  proves  the  truth  of  what  had 
been  said  concerning  the  sensitiveness  of  the 
religious  mind,  on  the  subject  of  Creeds  and  Con- 
fessions:— it  is  so  excessive,  that  even  the  abuse 
of  them  must  not  be  publicly  condemned;  nor 
the  distinguishing  principle  of  Protestantism, 
that  the  Bible  is  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice, be  fairly  argued  out.  It  was  well  known  that 
both  ministers  and  their  people  are  exceedingly 
tenacious  of  their  own  ecclesiastical  forms;  that 
in  every  age,  since  their  introduction,  their  ad- 
vocates have  reasoned  most  zealously  in  their  de- 
fence; and  that  even  now,  as  well  as  then,  a  di- 
vine ivarrant^  which,  if  it  can  be  proved,  closes 
the  controversy  at  once  and  for  ever,  is  pleaded 
in  their  favour.  These  facts  made  it  somewhat 
hazardous  to  deliver  the  discourse  at  all,  but  yet 
could  not  alter  the  nature  of  the  solemn  dutv 


XI 

which  the  occasion  enjoined.  My  conscience 
would  not  accept  them  as  an  apology,  and  I 
could  not  decline  obeying  a  call  which  was  felt  to 
be  imperious.  Yet,  after  all,  the  Discourse  was 
framed  in  a  manner  so  respectful  to  the  feelings 
of  those,  who,  it  was  supposed,  were  inimical  to 
its  views,  that  when  it  is  subjected  even  to  harsh 
and  fiery  criticism,  its  reviewers  are  obliged  to 
retreat  into  intentions  and  rfe.sig'n.s,  in  order 
to  find  matter  of  censure.  "No  man  knowetli 
the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of  man  which 
is  in  him." 

Shortly  after  the  Discourse  was  delivered,  and 
at  the  opening  of  the  subsequent  session.  Dr. 
IVIiller  addressed  an  introductory  lecture  to  the 
Students  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  select- 
ing for  its  subject,  ''The  utility  and  importance 
of  Creeds  and  Confessions."  He  did  not  allude 
to  the  Discourse,  with  which  the  preceding  ses- 
sion had  been  closed:  But  the  connexion  be- 
tween the  two  productions  has  been  perceived 
by  every  reader ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  has 
been  explicitly  declared  by  our  common  review- 
er, who  has  passed  on  the  Professor  a  very  hand- 
some compliment  for  not  being  transfixed  by 
either  horn  of  an  "appaient  dilemma,"  and  who 
confidently  challenges  an  '-'■attewpt^''  to  answer  the 
lecture.  Dr.  Miller  will  not  be  surprised,  nor 
offended  therefore,  if  I  consider  Him  as  having 
thrown  me  on  my  own  defence;  and  as  having 
made  it  necessary  for  me  again  to  appear  before 
the  public,  to  plead  in  favour  of  opinions,  vi  hich 
the  whole  circumstances  of  the  case  have  iden- 


xu 


tified  with  my  ministerial  character.  In  the  fol- 
lowing remarks,  his  name  will  very  frequently 
appear,  and  quotations  from  his  writings  will  be 
very  freely  transcribed.  If  any  sentence  in  those 
remarks  can  be  justly  censured,  as  either  rudely 
assailing  his  feelings,  or  abandoning  the  subject 
for  the  sake  of  any  personal  advantage,  it  shall  be 
most  cheerfully  retracted.  Nothing  of  the  kind 
is  intended;  neither  is  any  further  controversy 
sought  or  desired.  I  write  for  truth^  not  for  vie- 
tory^  and  to  demonstrate  to  the  public,  that 
some  good  reasons  exist  for  my  scruples  on  the 
subject  of  Creeds  and  Confessions.  No  man, 
who  has  a  good  cause  to  manage,  has  any  need 
to  grow  vulgar,  and  descend  to  personalities;  or 
if  he  does,  he  is  a  feeble  advocate,  and  his  cause 
would  succeed  much  better  without  him.  At 
the  same  time,  it  would  be  carrying  the  rules  of 
politeness  too  far,  to  require  a  writer  to  enfeeble 
his  argument,  or  not  to  give  it  all  the  force 
which  the  circumstances  of  his  subject  demand- 
ed. On  these  terms,  the  principles  of  Dr.  M's. 
lecture  shall  be  fairly  controverted  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages;  for  I  verily  believe  that  he  is  er- 
roneous, and  very  erroneous  too,  in  what  he  has 
advanced,  and  that  the  sentence  of  heresy  is  not 
due  to  those  to  whom  he  awards  it. 

Some  time  after  Dr  Miller's  lecture  had  been 
given  to  the  public,  a  review  of  both  it  and  the 
Discourse  appeared  in  "The  Christian  Advo- 
cate." This  piece  of  rude  criticism,  it  is  under- 
stood, is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Green,  who  per- 
haps thought  that  the  young  heretic  was  escap- 


XIU 

ing  too  easily  from  public  reprobation,  or  that 
his  "strange  discourse"  was  passing  too  quick- 
ly into  oblivion.  Of  this  production  I  scarcely 
know  what  to  say.  It  would  be  far  more  un- 
pleasant to  me,  than  offensive  to  him,  to  state  its 
general  character:  and  it  must  be  left  with  the 
reader,  to  condemn  or  approve,  as  he  may  think 
proper.  Had  it  been  a  young  man,  proud  of  his 
portly  mien  and  his  sinewy  arm,  who  had  taken 
up  the  gauntlet,  and  treated  me  with  such  lord- 
ly disdain,  I  might  have,  perhaps, at  least 

exhorted  him  to  keep  a  stricter  watch  over  his 
own  heart,  lest  in  old  ag;e  a  bad  temper  should 
be  his  besetting  sin.  But,  alas!  it  is  an  old 
MAN,  whose  declining  years  no  young  man  is  per- 
mitted to  distract.  I  cannot  strike  my  father — my 
heart  would  fail  me.  It  is  an  old  minister  of 
THE  GOSPEL,  a  character  and  personage  whom 
all  the  v/orld  should  hold  in  high  veneration; 
and  whom  all  the  church  should  desire  to  see 
"such  an  one  as  Paul  the  aged."  My  hands 
are  tied,  and  I  can  only  say,  that  young  minis- 
ters of  the  pjospel  calculate  to  receive  very  dif- 
ferent treatment  from  those  who  have  gone  be- 
fore them  in  the  arduous  w^ork  to  which  they 
arc  called:  they  hope  ever  to  find  such  individu- 
als to  be  "helpers  of  their  joy." 

There  is  one  circumstance,  however,  which 
the  feelings  of  the  public  will  not  suffer  me  to 
leave  unexplained;  though  I  did  suppose,  at 
first,  that  I  had  been  long  enough  engaged  in 
their  service  to  shield  me  irom  an  aspersion  so 

2 


XIV 

foul.  Be  my  opinions  w^at  they  may,  I  had 
hoped  that  my  iiitegrity  was  not  to  be  impeach- 
ed. It  is  surprising  that  Dr.  G.  should  have 
alluded  to  the  subject  at  all ;  because  he  knows, 
that  there  are  in  his  own  denomination,  and  in 
every  other  denomination ;  and  that  there  are  in 
the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Seminary  at 
Princeton,  ministers  and  laymen,  who  espouse 
very  different  sentiments.  In  diifering  from  one 
another,  do  none  of  them  differ  from  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  which  they  have  alike  subscrib- 
ed? If  Dr.  G.  intended  that  these  brethren 
should  feel  the  pungency  of  his  remark,  he 
should  have  told  all  the  truth,  and  let  the 
whole  Christian  Church  know  how  far  subscrip- 
tion to  Creeds  and  Confessions  is  desolating  our 
moral  feelings;  that,  if  her  sons  have  any  mag- 
nanimity left,  they  might  rise  in  their  majesty, 
and  put  these  polluting  things  out  of  God''s  holy 
sanctuary. 

He  has  thought  proper  to  give  the  public  the 
following  information: — "'■Mr.  D.  did  this  too,'^ 
that  is,  violently  impugn  all  Standards  of  Faith, 
"we  speak  of  what  we  wilnesi  ed — uithin  four 
or  Jive  hours  after  he  had  himself  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  subscribed  a  formula,  by  which 
he  pledged  himself  faithfully  to  endeavour  to 
carry  into  effect  all  the  articles  and  provisions 
of  the  plan  of  that  Seminary;  one  article  of 
which  declares,  that  the  Institution  is  intended 
to  sustain,  in  their  integrity,  the  Standards  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church."  And  in  a  7iote^  after 
copying  out  the  formula,  which  the  Directors 


XV 

subscribe,  ho.  remarks, — "'This  was  the  formula 
which  Mr.  D.  first  read,  deliberately  and  audi- 
bly, in  the  presence  of  the  Board,  and  then  sub- 
scribed his  name  to  a  copy  of  it,  in  a  book  kept 
for  the  purpose." 

Now  all  this  is,  what  some  writers  would  call, 
a  false  fact:  For  this  formula  V  had  subscrib- 
ed about  twelve  months  before^  instead  of  "-four  or 
five  hours;"  and  that  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  not  at  Princeton;  and  on  a  loose  piece  of 
paper,  and  not  "in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose." 
Dr.  G.  will  certainly  not  tell  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  that  the  Directors  of  the  Theolooical 
Semmary  are  all  sworn  in  every  time  Ihey  meet; 
nor  can  he  justify  himself,  considering  the  high 
ground  he  has  taken,  in  making  the  assertion  he 
has,  with  such  v^'.ircumstantial  phrase.  The 
affair,  as  it  occurred  at  Princeton,  is  as  follows. 
The  book  was  handed  to  me  for  my  signature. 
I  stated  that  I  had  a  year  before  subscribed  a 
formula,  preparatory  to  occupying  a  seat  at  the 
board.  To  this  it  was  replied,  that  my  sub- 
scription had  been  given  on  a  looie  piece  of 
paper,  which  might  be  lost;  and  that  it  was  de- 
sirable to  preserve  the  names  of  the  Directors 
together.  With  these  explanations,  I  transcrib- 
ed my  name,  nev^er  suspecting  that  I  was  involv- 
ed in  the  repetition  of  an  oath.  Had  such  an  idea 
been  sug2;ested,  the  loose  paper  must  have  served 
for  my  time  of  service.  For  I  do  think  it  to  be 
a  deep  disgrace  to  the  Church,  that  her  ministers 
must  be  so  continually  harrassed  with  tests  and 
oaths,  as  though  they  had  forfeited  every  claim 


XVI 

to  the  character  of  honest  men;  and  could  not  be 
trusted  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  which  are  yet  so 
deeply  interesting  to  themselves,  without  contin- 
ually swearing  to  be  faithful.  Such  views  of 
the  ministerial  character,  carried  out  into  prac- 
tice, will  destroy  all  ministerial  influence.  A 
minister's  ordination  to  office,  includes  His  oath, 
and  the  whole  Church  should  be  satisfied  with  it. 
Their  yea  should  be  yea ;  and  their  nay  should 
be  nay. 

But  still,  "four  or  five  hours,"  or  twelve 
months,  may  not  materially  affect  the  morality  of 
the  transaction.  A  difference  mijrht  indeed  ex- 
ist, if  a  man  was  ever  permitted  to  alter  his 
opinions,  when  he  is  convinced  that  they  are 
wrong;  and  if  twelve  months  would  not  be  too 
short  a  period  for  such  a  change,  which  might 
probably  take  place  even  "within  four  or  five 
hours."  This,  however,  is  not  consistent  with 
the  confessional  system.  According  to  its  dic- 
tates, a  man  is  not  at  liberty  to  throw  his  doc- 
trinal views  into  any  new  form:  he  must  pre- 
serve them  inviolable  until  his  latest  hour,  and 
then  transmit 'them  unimpaired  to  his  children. 
Or,  if  he  should  be  so  eccentric  as  to  acquire  dif- 
ferent ideas,  as  he  advances  in  life,  and  extends 
his  researches  after  truth,  then  he  must  leave  the 
Churchy  which  possesses  every  association  of  his 
youth,  and  whose  interests  have  been  entwined 
with  every  fibre  of  his  heart. — Thus,  the  diffi- 
culty is  only  removed  one  step  farther,  and  there 
it  must  be  met  in  all  its  ugliness. 


XVI 1 

What  then  must  the  Directors  of  this  institu- 
tion promise  to  do?  Dr.  G.  it  is  presumed,  has 
placed  their  duties  in  tlie  clearest  light;  for  he 
has  shown  considerable  anxiety  to  prove  his 
charge,  and  to  make  it  speak  audibly.  Accord- 
ing to  his  quotations,  their  oflicial  aim  must  be — 
'•To  form  men  for  the  Gospel  ministry,  who  shall 
truly  believe  and  cordially  love,  and  therefore 
endeavour  to  propagate  and  defend,  in  its  genu- 
ineness, and  simplicity,  and  fulness,  that  system 
of  religious  belief  and  practice  which  is  set  forth 
in  the  Confession  of  Faiih,  Catechisms,  and  Plan 
of  Government  and  Discipline  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church;  and  thus  to  perpetuate  and  extend 
the  intluence  of  true  evangelical  piety  and  gos- 
pel order."  How  far  all  this  might  he  atfected 
in  a  single  discourse,  it  is  not  easy  to  see.  The 
decision  of  that  question  must  depend  upon  the 
character  of  the  discourse  itself.  In  relation  to 
that  one  which  has  fallen  under  his  censure,  it  is 
abundantly  evident  that  the  very  front  of  its  of- 
fending is,  that  it  has  honourably  and  honestly 
maintained,  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  rule  of  faith 
and  practice^  a  proposition  which  the  Confession 
of  Faith  has  again  and  again  asserted;  and  it 
therefore  states  an  essential  principle  of  that  sys- 
tem of  religious  belief  and  practice,  which  the 
Directors  are  bound  to  preserve  in  its  integrity. 
Does  Dr.  G.  question  this  proposition.'*  If  he 
does,  then  let  him  disburthen  himself  of  the 
charge  he  deals  out  to  others.  Does  he  not  ques- 
tion it?  Then  why  so  severely  condemn  others? 

2* 


XVlll  , 

Does  the  Confession  contradict  itself?  Then 
abandon  it;  for  if  the  Directors  are  sworn  to 
reconcile  contraries,  the  matter  of  their  oath  is 
unlawful,  because  it  is  impracticable.  Most 
assuredly,  if  the  Confession  of  Failh  itself  de- 
clares, that  God  is  the  only  Lord  of  conscience, 
and  the  Bible  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
it  occupies  as  high  ground,  as  the  Discourse 
which  has  provoked  so  much  ire.  The  truth  is, 
the  Confession  of  Faith  never  was  intended  to 
express  what  some  of  the  brethren  wish  to  make 
out;  they  have  added  something  of  their  own  to 
it  in  their  rules  of  order,  and  the  two  things  do 
not,  and  never  will,  harmonize;  one  or  the 
other  must  be  given  up.  For  the  advocates  of 
Creeds  and  Confessions,  after  admitting  that  the 
Bible  is  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  have 
the  trouble  of  proving  that  there  is  another  rule 
of  faith  and  practice ;  and  so  little  do  they  like 
the  trouble,  that  they  will  not  express  a  proposi- 
tion on  the  subject  in  plain  language.  It  is  true, 
they  call  a  human  Creed  a  test  of  orthodoxy, 
without  which  no  Church  ever  lived  in  peace  for 
half  a  century:  but  is  this  test  of  orthodoxy  a 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.'*  They  make  a  dis- 
tinction also  between  an  infallible,  and  a  fallible 
rule;  but  who  wants  a  fallible,  when  an  infalli- 
ble, rule  is  to  be  obtained.'*  So  that  the  whole 
of  this  argument  has  yet  to  be  made  plain:  let 
the  brethren  make  themselves  clearly  under- 
stood. 

To  sustain  the  charge  of  the  Reviewer,  per- 
haps some  great  and  distinguishing  doctrine  of 


XIX 

the  gospel  must  have  been  denied  in  the  dis- 
course, which  has  so  much  displeased  him.  Let 
him  speak  for  hiinself:  "We  feel  no  reluctance," 
he  says,  "but  a  real  pleasure,  in  stating  that,  so  far 
as  we  understand  him,  IMr.  D.  appears  to  hold 
fast  the  esseniial  doctrines  of  tJie  gospel.  Of  these 
doctrines,  his  subject  did  not  lead  him  to  treat  di- 
rect))'; but,  from  what  he  says  incidentally,  we 
think  we  can  gather,  that  he  is  not  only  entirely 
free  from  any  leaning  to  the  Socinian  or  Unita- 
rian heresy,*  but  that  he  fully  believes  in 
the  native  depravity  of  man,  the  necessity 
of  regeneration  by  the  spirit  of  grace,  justi- 
fication solely  by  the  rigliteousness  of  Christ, 
evangelical  repentance  for  sin,  the  essential  im- 
portance of  obedience  to  idl  the  commands  of 
God,  the  progressive  sanctification  of  believers, 
a  judgment  to  come,  and  a  future  state  of  end- 
less rewards  and  punishments.  ]\or  only  so, 
but  he  seems  to  be  a  warm  advocate  for  o-reat 
ministerial  fidelity,  simplicity,  zeal,  charity,  holy 
and  exemplary  living,  and  an  unreserved  devo- 
tion to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  winning  of  souls 
to  Jesus  Christ,  Now  this  is  much  as  it  should 
be.'^  And  what  more  does  the  good  man  require, 

*Wlmt  need  is  there  for  such  a  remark  as  this?  It  serves  to  re- 
veal the  character  of  tlie  reports  wliich  had  been  in  circulation 
and  to  show  how  very  sinfully  Christian  ministeis  can  speak  of  one 
another,  witlioiit  ever  inquiring  into  facts  Perhaps  tlie  Reviewer 
might  have  felt  some  misgiving  on  this  subject  1  have  certainly 
to  thank  liim  for  assuring  the  public  that  I  am  not  a  Soc^NIA^. 
Tiie  brethren  had  better  omit  associating  the  denial  of  Creeds  and 
Confessions  with  this  lieresy;  it  is  an  unmanly  attempt  to  throw 
public  odium  over  upon  those  who  do  not  deserve  it;  and  can  only 
demonstrate  that  they  are  i"  want  of  proof  to  substantiate  tlieir 
ufibrotlierly  charges. 


XX 

that  he  should  insinuate  a  want  of  integrity^ 
and  charge  me  with  unfaithful  dealing  with  the 
plan  of  the  Seminary?  Did  the  Students  hear 
any  thing  contrary  to  the  '•'•system  of  religious 
belief  and  practice,"  which  had  been  drawn  out 
in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  as  explanatory  of 
scriptural  doctrines?  And  if  not,  was  the  sub- 
scription invalidated  ? 

But  the  Reviewer  has  declared  explicitly  the 
matter  of  offence.  In  continuance  of  what  has 
been  already  quoted,  he  says;  "It  really  looks 
as  if  Mr.  D.  had  been  intended  for  better  things, 
than  to  be  a  panick-struck  declaimer  against  all 
the  formulas  of  faith  in  protestant  Christendom, 
and  a  visionary  expectant  of  the  speedy  occur- 
rence of  such  a  new  and  improved  state  of  the 
world,  as  to  render  all  old  things — not  excepting 
Christianity  itself,  as  it  has  hitherto  existed — 
as  much  matters  out  of  date,  as  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation was,  after  the  coming  of  Christ,  and 
the  preaching  of  his  Apostles.  Here  is  the  rock, 
on  which  Mr.  D.  has  unhappily  run  foul ;  and 
we  heartily  wish  he  may  get  off,  without  even- 
tually making  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good 
conscience." 

So  then  it  seems  that  a  man  may  "hold  fast 
the  essential  doctrines  of  the  gospel;"  but  if  he 
should  venture  to  say  any  thing  disrespectful  of  hu- 
man Creeds^  he  is  in  danger  of  losing  his  soul  for 
ever,  and  deserves  the  severest  animadversions 
which  an  old  minister  of  the  gospel  can  write. 
It  is  too  common  an  idea.  There  are  many 
besides    Dr.  G.   who    cherish    this  idolatrous 


XXI 


reverence  for  "human  inventions." — The  ques- 
tion still  is,  has  "the  system  of  religious  faith 
and  practice,  set  forth  in  the  Confession  of  Faith," 
been  invaded?  The  charge, be  it  remembered,  is 
the  violation  of  a  particular  oath.  When  the 
Assembly  adopted  their  book  of  discipline,  did 
they  take  such  high  ground  as  this?  Plear  what 
they  say  in  their  prefatory  chapter: — "They  are 
unanimously  of  opinion,  that  God  alone  is  Lord 
of  the  conscience,  and  hath  left  it  free  from  the 
doctrine  and  commandments  of  men,  which  are 
in  any  thing  contrary  to  his  word,  or  beside  it, 
in  matters  of  faith  or  worship:  therefore^  Ihey  con- 
sider the  tights  of  private  judgment,  in  alt  mat' 
ters  that  respect  religion,  as  universal  and  una- 
lienable.'''' And  again  they  declare — "That  all 
church  power,  whether  exercised  by  the  body  in 
general,  or,  in  the  way  of  representation,  by 
delegated  authority,  is  only  ministerial  and  de* 
clarative ;  that  is  to  say,  that  the  holy  scriptures 
are  tlie  only  nUe  of  faith  and  manners;  that  no 
church  judiccdory  ought  to  pretend  to  make 
laivs,  to  bind  the  conscience,  in  virtue  of  their 
own  authority,  &lc."*  J)r,  G.  and  some  others, 
who  have  been  very  liberal  in  their  censure, 
must  have  forgotten  what  the  system  of  reli- 
gious belief  and  practice,  proposed  to  the  Di- 
rectors of  the  Theoloiiical  Seminary,  really  is. 
Apprehending,  from  the  exquisite  tenderness 
whicli  is  cherished  for  Creeds  and  Confes- 
sions, and  which  I  have  had  abundant  opportu- 

*p.  p.  376—8. 


XXll 

nity  of  knowing,  that  some  such  charge  might 
be  brought  against  me  as  a  Director  of  the 
Seminary,  I  had  consulted  the  Confession  of 
Faith  before  the  discourse  was  prepared ;  and  had 
deliberately  formed  the  opinion,  that  there  was 
nothing  in  it  which  the  Confession  itself  did  not 
distinctly  assert.  Often,  and  very  often,  have 
warm  advocates  of  "our  excellent  standards" 
argued  against  propositions,  which  those  very 
standards  themselves  most  explicitly  declare. 
And  no  wonder,  for  many  ardent  friends  of  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  seldom  or  ever 
read  it. — But  still  farther.  Suppose  the  whole 
doctrine  of  subscription  to  our  own  church 
Creed  had  been  assaulted,  would  the  system  oj 
belief  and  practice^  therein  contained,  have  been 
thereby  invaded  and  set  aside.''  Then  the  West- 
minster Assembly  itself,  which  made  this  book 
that  Presbyterians  so  highly  eulogise,  must  fall 
under  the  reviewer's  lash;  for  that  Assembly  did 
declare,  that  to-  require  subscription  simply  to 
the  answers  to  the  questions  in  the  shorter  cate- 
chism, was  an  unwarrantable  imposition — 
as  shall  be  shown  in  its  proper  place,  in  the 
course  of  the  following  remarks. 

Once  more:  Dr.  G.  says,  "Mr.  D.  is  a  visionary 
expectant  of  the  speedy  occurrence  of  such  a 
new  and  improved  state  of  the  world,  as  to  ren- 
der all  old  things  as  much  matters  out  of  date, 
as  the  Jewish  dispensation  was,  &c."  That  a 
change,  and  a  very  great  change  too,  is  coming, 
Dr.  G.  himself  believes;  and  so  does  every  chris- 
tian who  has  read  his  Bible.     God  forbid  that 


XXlll 


we  should  be  disappointed ;  for,  really,  ecclesias- 
tical matters  are,  at  present,  most  terribly  dis- 
tracted.    As  to  the  speedy  occurrence  of  such  a 
change,  it  happens  that  I   believe    directly  the 
reverse  of  that  which  the  Reviewer  charges  upon 
nie  as  a  serious  crime;  neither  have  I  made  any 
such  visionary  calculations,  derived  from  a  hasty 
glance  at  the  vast  scene,  which  a  troubled  world 
and  a  distracted  church  spread  out  to  the  view 
of  every  sanctified   philanthrophist.     But   sap- 
pose  this  had  been  done.   Have  I  thereby  offended 
against  my  subscribed  formula,  as  a  Director  of 
the  Theological   Seminary.''  That  prescribes  no 
doctrinal    decision  on  the  question,  whether  the 
Millennium  shall  burst  forth  within  the  next  twen- 
ty years,  or  shall  be  deferred  for  two  centuries. 
And  if,  in  relation  to  this  subject,  I  have  been  un- 
fortunate enough   to   say,   that  Sectarianism  is 
now  falling  like  the  worn  out  economy  of  Moses, 
is  it  not    a  fact.^    May    not  every  man    see  it.'^ 
Have  not  christian  denoniinations  felt  it  to  their 
very  centres.^  Does  not  Dr.  G.  himself  exult  in 
it,  when  he  says,  "t7  is  pleasant  to  observe^  that 
whatever  sectarian   feelings   may  exist  at  home, 
the  missionaries,  when  they  meet    in    heathen 
lands,  lay  them  all  aside;  and  live^  and  love^  and 
co-operate  as  breiliren?     In  this  way,  it  may  be 
the  walls  of  division  between  christian  sects  \^  ill 
at  last  be  so  far  prostrated,  that  while  each  may 
retain  its  peculiar  forms  and  usages,  all  may 
cherish  a  spirit  of  christian  feelins;  and  fellow- 
ship.'''     I  agree  with  Dr.  G.  and  have  expressed 
similar  ideas  in.  my  own  language,  which  he  has 


XXIV 

thoiig:ht  proper  to  criticise  with  all  the  asperity 
he  could  employ.  So  then,  at  last,  we  are  both 
heretics  together. — What  a  strange  creature  is 
7nan! 

I  hope  that  I  have  fairly  disabused  myself  of 
the  unjust  and  cruel  insinuation  of  a  want  of 
mtegiity^  as  to  the  matter  of  subscription.  Jf 
it  has  not  been  done  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
reader,  I  shall  never  return  to  it  again,  and  shall 
hear  of  its  renewal  with  composed  silence.  My 
feelings,  on  such  a  subject,  are  housed  under  the 
protection  of  a  good  conscience,  and  my  heart 
is  safe.  Deeply  regretting  that  any  necessity 
existed  to  notice  the  review  at  all,  and  particu- 
larly that  such  a  long  explanation  had  become 
requisite,  I  now  part  from  its  author,  hoping 
that  it  may  be  our  happy  lot  to  meet  on  that 
holy  mount,  where  nothing  shall  hurt  or  de- 
stroy; in  that  home  of  the  redeemed,  where 
there  is  fulness  of  joy,  and  where  there  are  plea- 
sures forevermore.  There  the  sectarian  shall 
be  found  a  spiritualised  man;  human  inventions 
shall  be  forgotten,  as  the  unsanctified  elements 
of  earthly  strife;  and    God  shall  be  all   and 

IN  ALL. 

The  following  remarks,  on  the  Rise,  Use  and 
Unlawfulness  of  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith 
are  now  given  to  the  public,  because  it  is  conceiv- 
ed that  the  Lecture  and  the  Review  have  furnish- 
ed a  very  unfair  view  of  the  utility  and  importance 
of  these  ecclesiastical  rules;  and  because  these  two 
publications,  as  has  already  been  stated,  have, 
in  the  minds  of  their  readers,  identified  the  con- 


XXV 

troversy  on  this  subject  with  my  ministerial 
character.  I  do  not  deny  the  views  which  are 
ascribed  to  me:  That  is  to  say,  1  am  an  undis- 
guised advocate  of  the  following  truths: — That 
God  alone  is  Lord  of  conscience,  and  that  his 
Bible  \sihe  only  ruleof  faith  and  practice:  Or, 
if  the  reader  pleases,  that  church  courts  and 
human  Creeds  or  Confessions,  are  not  entitled, 
in  any  shape  whatever,  to  control  the  human 
conscience.  If  these  things  be  true,  and  if 
contrary  principles  of  ecclesiastical  policy  are 
in  operation  in  the  church,  the  subject  is  worth 
an  elaborate  discussion.  And  if  my  discourse 
has  particularly  associated  me  with  that  subject 
in  the  public  mind,  I  dare  not  decline  to  state 
my  reasons  for  the  opinions  which  have  been 
advanced.  Yet  most  cheerfully  would  the  im- 
portant cause  be  yielded  into  other  hands,  if  any 
other  advocate,  to  whom  the  church  might  be 
more  willing  to  listen,  would  take  it  up.  Under 
these  feelings,  and  with  these  views,  I  write. 

Though  the  early  ages  of  the  Christian 
Church  arc  briefly  reviewed  in  the  first  part  of 
these  remyrks,  and  the  testimony  of  such  histo- 
rians as  were  within  my  reach  is  freely  quoted, 
yet  I  attach  very  little  importance  to  any  argu 
ment  that  may  be  derived  from  that  source . - 
For,  admitting  that  human  Creeds  were  then  in 
favour  and  fashion,  the  fact  would  only  prove 
these  instruments  of  human  authority  to  be 
lawful,  by  human  authority.  And  can  any  given 
number  of  human   witnesses,  however   learned 


XXVI 

and  holy  they  may  be,  and  however  frequently 
and  unanimously  they  may  declare  their  testi- 
mony, prove  that  one  human  being  has  a  right 
to  control  the  conscience  of  another  human 
being?  If  our  political  ideas  and  institutions 
were  subjected  to  such  a  process  of  reasoning, 
it  would  certainly  follow  that  we  have  no  right 
to  be  an  independent  nation;  and  that  these 
United  States  were  traitorous  indeed,  when  they 
refused  to  live  any  longer  in  colonial  servitude; 
for  political  despotism  and  hereditary  rulers 
have  long  enslaved  the  human  mind  We  Amer- 
icans say,  that  all  men  of  light  ought  to  be  free, 
and  that  the  people  are  the  fountain  of  political 
power.  If  some  sagacious  statesman  should  rise 
to  prove  these  principles  unsound  and  dangerous, 
because  they  were  not  recognized  in  ancient 
times,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  kindled  his  "burn- 
ing fiery  furnace,"  or  when  Tarcjuin  despised  the 
approbation  of  public  assemblies,  and  trampled 
on  the  decisions  of  the  Senate,  who  would  listen 
to  him?  We  have  a  political  charter  of  our  own, 
which  we  chose  to  frame  for  ourselves,  and 
which  other  nations  have  been  copying  out  in 
blood.  The  argument  is  equally  futile  in  ec- 
clesiastical matters;  and  if  carried  out,  would 
prove  that  the  Pope  is  of  right  our  sovereign 
lord,  both  in  church  and  state.  The  Scriptures 
alone  are  of  any  avail  here;  and  if  they  have 
declared  that  God  is  the  only  Lord  of  con- 
science, and  have  forbidden  any  man,  or  any 
set  of  men,  to  usurp  his  prerogative,  then  the 
united  testimony  of  all  ages  in  sustaining   con- 


:%■/¥ 


xxvu 

traiy  principles,  would  only  demonstrate  the 
lamentable  corruption  of  all  aj^es.  The  argu- 
ment must  be  taken  fairly  and  freely  from  the 
Bible  itself;  and  the  authority  of  human  Creeds 
must  be  established  by  dwine  right.  Contro- 
versialists on  ecclesiastical  order  most  strenuous- 
ly insist  on  this;  and  they  do  as  they  ou^^ht  to 
do.  I^et  them  change  terms,  and  give  the  argu- 
ment they  so  loudly  call  for. 

Then  it  may  be  asked,  why  has  any  appeal 
been  made  to  ecclesiastical  historians  at  all  in 
these  pages  .^  I  reply — because  that  reference 
had  been  made  to  the  early  ages  of  the  church, 
by  those  who  have  undertaken  to  defend  Creeds 
and  Confessions;  because  that  reference  cannot 
be  sustained;  and  because  the  argument,  in  its 
present  condition,  seems  to  require  it:  though 
still  such  materials  of  reasoning  cannot  settle 
the  question  on  either  side.  The  Bible  is  the 
charter  of  our  spiritual  freedom;  "To  the  law 
and  to  the  testimony:  if  they  speak  not  accord- 
ing to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light 
in  them."  On  the  argument,  therefore,  that  is 
to  be  derived  from  the  Scriptures  alone,  must 
this  cause  finally  rest;  and  in  this  view,  every 
prayerful  and  attentive  reader  of  God''s  word, 
is  fully  competent  to  decide  for  himself,  though 
he  had  never  read  another  page  of  ecclesiastical 
history,  nor  ever  heard  of  the  opinions  of  either 
the  Apostolical  or  later  Fathers. 

It  may  be  necessary  for  me  here  to  state,  that 
I  am  not  coiu'ting  controversy  witii  any  man,  who 
may  think  it  incumbent  on   him  to   reply.     The 


XXVlll 

duties  of  a  pastoral  cliarge  are  arduous  enough, 
and  are  attended  by  exhausting  anxieties  enough, 
to  occupy  the  heart,  and  fill  up  the  time,  of  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel.  Perhaps  this  production  may 
he  permitted  to  sink  into  an  early  grave.  Be  it  so. 
Then  some  louder  voice  may  hereafter  rouse  the 
public  mind  from  its  lethargy,  and  more  success- 
fully proclaim  to  mankind  what  are  their  religi- 
ous rights.  Perhaps  a  rejoinder  may  very  quickly 
appear.  If  so,  whoever  may  undertake  it,  I 
ask  him,  for  his  own  sake,  as  well  as  for  the 
sake  of  religious  truth,  to  show  himself  an  ho- 
norable opponent;  and  to  WTite  on  a  christian 
subject,  as  though  he  knew  it  ought  to  be  hand- 
led in  a  christian  spirit.  Let  him  be  "valiant 
for  the  truth  upon  the  earth;"  but  let  him  discuss 
the  subject,  not  the  mam  Be  the  present  writer 
what  he  may,  or  however  his  offended  brethren 
may  be  pleased  to  estimate  what  he  has  written, 
the  subject  itself  is  of  the  most  dignified  and 
exalted  kind.  It  involves  the  growth  of  immor- 
tal spirits;  the  habits  of  christian  living;  all  that 
generous  and  benevolent  effort  which  the  church- 
es are  making  for  the  regeneration  of  the  world; 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  present  and  everlast- 
ing interests  of  all  mankind. 

The  day  is  at  hand,  when  all  this  shall  be 
seen,  and  most  distinctly  seen  too,  whatever 
obloquy  they  may  now  incur,  who  have  hazard- 
ed almost  every  thing  that  is  dear  to  them  in  a 
contest  with  public  opinion.  A  happier  hour  is 
coming,  when  ministers  and  their  people  shall 
look  at  things  as  they  are  ;  and  when  they  shall 


XXIX 


most  intensely  labour  to  make  them  what  they 
OUGHT  TO  BE.  A  more  jovful  day  is  nigh,  when 
the  lightnings  of  the  skies,  shining  from  the 
east  even  unto  the  west,  sliall  light  the  steps  of 
the  Son  of  Man;  when,  the  Spirit  descending 
like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  or  as  showers 
that  water  the  earth,  the  desert  shall  lejoice  and 
blossom  as  the  rose;  when  Jehovah  shall  solve 
all  doubts,  as  he  did  by  the  dew  on  Gideon's 
fleece, — afford  a  refreshing  shadow,  as  he  did  by 
Jonah's  gourd — and  satisfy  the  hungry,  as  he 
did  when  the  widow's  barrel  of  meal  did  not 
waste,  and  her  cruse  of  oil  did  not  fail,  or  when 
thousands  feasted  on  the  barley-loaves;  and 
when  all  nations  shall  take  up  their  song  and 
sing — '"God  is  in  his  holy  temple — Alleluia;  for 
the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth." 


REMARKS 


^     CRZS&aS  AND  CONFSSSIONS. 


PART  I. 


SECTION  I. 


It  is  a  very  unhappy  circumstance,  that  the 
corruptions  of  Society  can  be  traced  back  to  so 
early  a  period  in  the  history  of  man.  Antiqui- 
ty often  arrays  vice  in  the  lovely  attire  of  vir- 
tue, and  not  unfrequently  consecrates  error  as 
an  inheritance  too  invaluable  to  be  dispensed 
with.  How  often  do  men  sustain  a  favourite 
scheme  by  the  example  of  past  ages,  and  argue 
out  the  orthodoxy  of  their  own  particular  views, 
by  appealing  to  the  opinions  of  their  fathers. 
What  religious  denomination  does  not  boast  of 
its  lineage,  and  "minister  questions"  by  telling 
of  "endless  genealogies.'^"  What  disputant  now 
appears  on  the  theological  arena,  who  is  not 
flushed  with  victory,  in  proportion  as  he  is  able 
to  enlist  great  names  in  his  favour .'^  In  what 
controversy  does  not  that  scale  preponderate, 


into  which  you  may  throw  the  opinions  and  say- 
ings of  siich  men  as  Newton,  Calvin,  Luther, 
Melancthon ?  And  wliy  is  it  so?  Is  that  which  is 
oZd,  necessarily  ri^ht?  Has  the  world  undergone 
no  changes  in  modern  times?  Have  the  circum- 
stances of  society  been  in  nothing  modified?  Is 
the  intellect  of  man  too  much  degenerated  in  the 
present  day,  to  permit  him  to  think,  judge,  de- 
cide, and  act  for  himself? 

We  have  no  intention  to  satirize  the  memory 
of  those  who  have  gone  before  us,  to  meet  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth.  He  who  does  not  reve- 
rence his  fathers,  and  love  their  very  shades,  is 
out-stripped  by  barbarous  Scythians  in  one  of  the 
most  amiable  qualities  of  the  human  heart.  He 
is  too  parricidious,  to  estimate  those  exquisitely 
tender  descriptions  of  divine  love,  w^hich  the 
scriptures  afford,  when  they  would  liken  it  to 
the  parental  storge.  But,  at  the  same  time,  by  no 
principle  of  social  honour,  is  any  man  bound  to 
bury  his  own  individuality  of  existence  under 
the  exactions  of  their  arbitrary  rule;  nor  to  par- 
alyze the  powers  of  his  own  mind,  and  to  ex- 
tinguish the  affections  of  his  own  heart,  by 
cherishing  an  awful  and  desolating  feeling  of 
their  federal  responsibility.  In  doing  so,  he 
would  mock  the  wisdom  of  the  most  High, 
quench  those  intellectual  fires,  which  illume  and 
cheer  his  own  soul,  and  sport  with  the  fearful 
realities  of  that  dreadful  day,  when  every  one 
must  give  account  of  himself  to  God. 

Selfish  as  man  is  generally  represented  to  be, 
yet  so  common  is  his  dereliction  to  the  best  in- 


terosts  of  liis  own  spirit, — a  dereliction,  which 
it  wonld  be  the  very  airectation  of  filial  feeling 
to  justify,  b}^  a  regard  for  his  father's  honour — 
that  wc  cannot  but  rejoice  in  those  revolutions, 
which  sometimes  are  permitted  to  occur  by  an 
overriding  Providence.  They  serve  to  break 
that  stillness  of  death  which  settles  on  the  hu- 
man heart,  and  to  afford  to  whole  generations 
another  start  for  "glory,  honour,  and  immortali- 
ty." Society,  it  is  true,  experiences  a  tremen- 
dous shock,  and  the  most  calamitous  conse- 
quences are  endured,  ere  such  changes  have  ac- 
complished their  grand  design.  But  to  leave 
human  things  alone,  and  suffer  them  to  run  heed- 
lessly on  to  irremediable  ruin,  would  be  more 
tremendous  still.  What  a  tale  of  terrible  things 
would  the  spirit  of  judgment  have  written  out,  to 
appal  the  universe,  if  no  Redeemer  had  appear- 
ed, to  quench  the  livid  flames  that  sin  had  kin- 
dled around  the  tree  of  life!  And  what  sad  and 
gloomy  prognostics,  would  now  fill  our  thoughts 
by  day,  and  give  frightful  forms  to  our  dreams  by 
night,  when  we  contemplate  the  awful  desola- 
tion of  morals  which  overspreads  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  earth,  and  converts  human  genius  into  so 
fearful  an  engine  of  satanic  policy,  if  we  did 
not  know  that  Jehovah  had  promised  the  millen- 
nial extension  of  the  gospel  of  peace!  There 
would  be  no  relief  but  in  a  dire  insensibility,  from 
which  every  noble  spirit  would  most  quickly 
break  away,  to  breathe  out  its  aspirations  for 
heaven's  rich  and  all-sufficient  mercy. 


34 

It  is  really  matter  of  deep  regret,  that  sub- 
jects, of  known  and  universal  concern,  should 
be  systematically  lifted  above  tlie  reach  of  com- 
mon minds.  That  those  very  things,  which 
every  man  should  endeavour  distinctly  and  ful- 
ly to  apprehend  for  himself, — and  particularly, 
when  the  means  by  which  he  may  make  them 
fairly  his  own,  are  really  provided,  and  freely 
proffered, — must  yet  be  encumbered  by  perplex- 
ing arrangements,which  his  fathers  have  thought 
proper  to  transmit.  It  is  a  deplorable  state  of 
intellectual  existence — an  inanity  which  all 
ought  most  earnestly  to  deprecate  for  themselves 
and  their  children.  Religion  is  just  such  a 
subjtct;  and,  of  that  class  of  subjects,  the  most 
inestimable.  In  relation  to  it,  the  Scriptural 
injunction  is,  let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind.  No  man  may  neglect  a  pearl 
of  such  great  price.  His  soul  is  at  stake:  his 
decisions  are  for  eternity ;  the  operations  of  his 
mind,  the  affections  of  his  heart,  the  habits  of 
his  life,  after  all  the  eulogy  he  may  receive,  and 
all  the  censure  he  may  incur,  on  earth,  are  all 
reserved  for  divine  inspection,  at  a  divine  tribu- 
nal. The  righteousness  of  those  who  have 
gone  before  him  cannot  save  him  ;  their  iniqui- 
ties cannot  condemn  him;  and,  that  "the  fathers 
have  eaten  a  sour  grape  and  the  children's  teeth 
are  set  on  edge,"  cannot  excuse  him.  He  nmst 
answer  for  himself,  and  for  himself  alone. — 
Then  surely  not  to  think,  not  to  feel,  not  to  act, 
as  personally  accountable,  is  a  spiritual  delirium, 
which  makes  him  the  object  of  the  profoundest 


35 

pity;  or  a  spiritual  aberration,  for  which  theolo- 
gians shall  in  vain  attempt  to  apologize. — • 
^Tamely  to  surrender  his  personal  independence; 
voluntarily  to  take  ret\ij;e  in  the  opinions  of  his 
fathers;  or  to  permit  others  to  impose  on  him 
such  terms  of  conmiunion  in  spiritual  things; 
and  offer  him  f>ral  or  written  tradition,  in  room 
of  the  word  of  God,  wliich  melts  and  trans- 
forms the  human  heart; — who  would  not  call 
forth  all  his  strength,  and  expend  all  his  chari- 
ty, in  a  deterniined  elfort  to  disenthral  society 
from  such  an  ill-fated  system  of  mental  and 
spiritual  mismanagement? 

These  reflections  do  not  proceed  from  a 
sickly  fancy,  insulated  by  its  own  feverish  im- 
pulses from  the  actual  circumstances  of  real 
life;  ranging  among  dark  forms  of  human 
sorrow,  which  have  no  existence;  or  dweli'ng 
upon  fantastic  visions  which  itself  rapidly 
creates.  The  attributes  of  social  life,  whether 
religious  or  political,  are  not  always  the  most 
delightful  subjects  a  moral  writer  is  called  to 
canvass.  We  apprehend,  we  have  been  par- 
tially describing  the  situati(m  in  which  Creeds 
and  Confessions  place  the  members  of  the 
church.  Else,  why  should  the  denial  of  the 
aulhority  of  those  ecclesiastical  instruments, 
be  considered  as  almost  infallible  proof  of  gross 
and  soul-destroying  heterodoxy.'^  Why  should 
an  argument,  made  up  of  a  detailed  report  of 
the  opinions  and  practices  of  the  fathers,  be 
thought  so  conclusive.''  Why  should  an  hon  est 
and  conscientious  elTort,  to  give  truth  a  scrip- 


86 

tural,  rather  than  a  scholastic,  form,  excite  so 
many  suspicions  against  him  who  makes  it,  and 
create  so  many  heart-burnings  in  christian  as- 
semblies? 

Suffer  us  to  declare  what  we  have  been  made 
to  feel  on  this  subject.  Our  own  experience,  to 
go  no  further  than  the  Discourse  delivered  at 
Princeton,  is  our  voucher.  AYe  feel,  that  we 
cannot  disown  the  supreme  authority  of  our  fa- 
thers, and  determine  to  think  for  ourselves, 
without  provoking  the  displeasure  of  professing 
christians.  We  feel,  that  we  cannot  furnish  il- 
lustrations of  evangelical  truth,  framed  accord- 
ing to  our  own  best  conceptions;  and  modified  to 
meet  the  peculiarities  of  the  day  in  which  we 
live,  as  far  as  we  apprehend  those  peculiarities; 
without  incurring  the  heaviest  censure,  under  a 
gratuitous  assumption  that  we  are  not  "walking 
in  the  footsteps  of  the  flock."  We  feel,  that  we 
cannot  whisper  a  doubt  as  to  the  theological 
views  of  divines  of  "the  olden  time,"  or  review 
the  crude  notions  of  our  youth  by  the  severer 
thought  of  maturer  years,  without  finding  our 
change  to  be  our  reproach,  in  the  estimation  of 
thousands  whose  good  opinion  we  value.  We 
feel,  that  to  abandon  that  mode  of  scriptural  ex- 
position, which  makes  every  text  to  utter  some 
Calvinistic  or  Arminian  dogma;  and  to  exchange 
it  for  that  which  brings  up  every  conscience  to 
the  bar  of  divine  revelation,  to  answer  for  itself; 
or  which  pours  the  full  radiance  of  the  Bible  over 
the  individual  and  social  habits  of  men;  is  to 
subject  ourselves  to  be  reviled  for  a  breach  of 


ordination  vows.  These  things  we  have  been 
made  to  feel:  and  we  cannot  reject  tlie  testimony 
of  our  senses.  The  doctrines  of  our  forefathers 
have  been  constituted,  in  practical  lite,  the  rules 
of  our  faith.  We  must  have  their  ideas, 
their  terms,  their  intellectual  associations ;  every 
thing  must  be  consecrated  by  antiquity,  or  we 
are  not  orthodox.  Once  more  we  ask,  who 
would  not  labour  to  redeem  society  from  such 
mental  servitude.^  Who  can  suppose  that  he 
has  too  much  to  sacrifice,  to  bring  men  back  to 
God,  and  to  induce  them  to  tliiuk  for  themselves, 
as  if  they  had  a  mind  and  conscience  of  their  own? 
We  propose  a  question,  if  it  will  not  startle 
the  reader  as  daring  and  presumptuous: — Are  \a'C 
not,  or  may  we  not  become,  as  good  judges  of 
the  Scriptures,  as  any  of  the  fathers.^  For 
example;  when  it  is  declared,  that  "God  so 
loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  only  begotten  Son, 
tiiat  whosoever  bclieveth  in  him  mig;ht  not  per- 
ish, but  might  have  everlasting  life;"  can  we 
not  understand  this  gracious  overture,  as  well 
as  any  apostolical  father.*'  And  after  all  that 
men,  botli  ancient  and  modern,  may  say  about 
it,  must  we  not  be  personally  taught  its  mean- 
ing by  the  Holy  Gho.st  dv/elling  in  us.^  Let  us 
go  a  step  farther,  and  ask  another  question: — As 
to  the  application  of  scriptural  principles  to 
present  circumstances,  do  we  not  understand 
them  better  than  our  fathers  .-^  They  did  not 
live  in  our  day:  they  knew  notliing  of  the  pecu- 
liarities of  our  age:  they  could  not  foresee  the 

4 


58 

operations  of  the  public  mind,  under  the  full 
development  of  political  liberty,  the  large  ad- 
vances of  science,  the  changes  in  language,  or 
that  enthusiastic  spirit  which  now  animates  the 
Bible  cause.  We  award  to  them,  as  we  ought, 
closer  and  more  accurate  views  of  the  circumstan- 
ces of  their  own  age;  for  we  know  comparatively 
little  about  them:  but,  as  we  value  our  responsi- 
bility, we  must  judge  for  ourselves  in  this  age, 
which  God  has  committed  to  our  thought  and 
management.  Then  why  must  we  be  compelled 
to  speak  as  they  spoke,  to  write  as  they  wrote,  or 
to  sing  as  they  sung.?  If  they  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  write  Creeds,  does  it  follow  that  we  must 
write  them  too.'^  If  they  thought  they  had  a 
right  to  frame  a  Creed  for  themselves,  does  it 
follow  that  we  have  not  a  right  to  make  a  Creed 
for  ourselves?  If  they  were  good  and  holy  men, 
does  it  follow  that  we  may  not  be  good  and  holy 
men  too?  Yet  we  cannot  move  a  single  step  in 
this  argument,  without  being  reminded  of  the 
superior  excellencies  of  our  fathers,  and  hearing 
whole  generations  reviled  by  a  charge  of  their 
dwarfish  stature  and  diminutive  powers.  Has 
their  authority  foreclosed  all  discussion?  Have 
their  Synodical  decrees  irrevocably  predestinated 
whatever  may  come  to  pass  m  these  days,  and 
sealed  up  all  our  ecclesiastical  operations  under 
an  unchanging  fate?  We  beg  leave  to  examine 
this  matter  for  ourselves;  and  ask  our  brethren 
to  suffer  us  to  discuss  it  in  a  candid,  manly 
and  christian  manner.  Our  petition  does  not 
transcend  the  rights  which  are  secured   to  us  by 


39 

the  word  of  God,  and   the   republican    institu 
tions  of  our  own  happy  land. 

We  do  not  think,  as  has  already  been  ob- 
served, that  the  testimony  of  the  early  fathers 
is  worth  half  the  credit,  that  is  so  gratuitously 
conferred  upon  it;  to  whichsoever  side  of  the 
present  controversy  it  may  be  favourable.  Of 
the  value  of  Creeds,  and  of  the  authority  by 
which  they  are  imposed,  we  are  fully  as  com- 
petent to  judge  as  they  were.  They  were  men 
like  ourselves;  and  sinful  men,  and  very  sinful 
men  too,  as  well  as  those  of  the  present  day, 
who  must  now  breathe  by  their  good  will. 
We  moreover  do  not  think,  that  the  early  ages 
of  Christianity  afford  any  evidence  in  favour 
of  Creeds,  as  they  are  at  present  forced  upon 
our  attention;  but  that  their  evidence  is  entirely 
against  the  popular  opinion  on  this  subject. — 
These  assertions  we  think  we  shall  make  good, 
in  the  course  of  these  remarks.  It  may  be  ne- 
cessary however,  first  to  put  our  readers  fully 
in  possession  of  our  ideas  of  a  Creed  or  Con- 
fession of  Faith;  or  precisely  to  point  out,  what 
that  thing  is  with  which  we  are  so  muchotfcnd- 
ed,  as  to  be  willing  to  meet  the  grievous  censure 
we  have  incurred.  This  shall  form  the  subject 
of  our  next  section. 


SECTIOiN    2. 


^^By  a  Creed,  or  Confession  of  Faith,  1 
mean,"  says  Dr.  Miller,*  "an  exhibition,  in 
human  language,  of  those  great  doctrines  which 
are  believed  by  the  framers  of  it  to  be  taugtit 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  which  are  drawn 
out  in  regular  order,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining how  far  those  who  wish  to  unite  in 
church  fellowship  are  really  agreed  in  the 
fundamental  principles  of  Christianity."  This 
definition,  perhaps,  states  the  subject  in  its 
mildest  and  least  offensive  terms.  But  whether 
it  will  convey  a  full  and  entire  view  of  a 
Creed  or  Confession  of  Faith  to  the  minds  of 
his  readers,  is  very  questionable ;  or  rather,  it 
is  absolutely  certain  it  will  not,  and  cannot. 
The  second  part  of  it  does,  indeed,  partially 
express  the  matter  of  oppression  against  which 
we  protest;  and  it  does  this  in  the  least  ob- 
jectionable form:  but  it  does  not  declare  the 
"sore  evil"  in  broad  terms,  and  in  plain  lan- 
guage. We  are  anxious  to  give  an  undisguis- 
ed view  of  this  matter,  that  we  may  not  be 
censured  for  false  delicacy,  and  unmanly  scru- 
ples. The  whole  subject  must  be  met  full  in 
the  face,  and  the  objection  we  make,  fairly 
and  honourably  refuted,  or  we  refuse  to  be 
satisfied.  It  was  not  the  mere  existence  of 
Creeds,  nor  was  it  the  fact  that  they  were  pro- 

*  Intrndiictorv  Lecture,  Paije  8. 


41 

claimed  by  particular  denominations  of  chris- 
tians, tliat  first  excited  our  alarm:  but  it  was 
the  actual  oppression  of  church  authontij  in  de- 
manding a  subscription  to  these  sectarian  arti- 
cles, and  that  not  in  relation  to  ourselves  either, 
that  opened  our  eyes  upon  the  "unwarrantable 
imposition,"  of  which  we  now  complain. 

A  Crced^  doubtless,  every  man  must  have, 
who  has  any  desire  to  know  truth,  or  who  has 
in  any  measure  made  truth  his  study.  A  Crced^ 
to  some  extent  or  other,  every  minister  of  the 
gospel  must  have,  who  intends  to  fulfil  his  ofii- 
cial  duties  with  integrity;  and  every  sermon  he 
preaches,  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  his  Creed.  And 
in  society,  individuals  will  approximate  to,  or 
recede  from  each  other,  in  their  modes  of  think- 
ing and  habits  of  action;  an  assimilation  may 
Oiicur,  by  an  iiiherent  or  an  accitlental  power  in 
society  to  regulate  itself,  and  thus  some  social 
principles  will  be  adopted  by  common  consent, 
or  something  like  a  social  Creed  will  be  tacit- 
ly f(jrmed.  For  the  law  of  the  human  mind, 
while  it  possesses  any  moral  consistency,  is  to 
cherish  and  evolve  its  own  honest  impressions. 
"I  believed,"  said  the  Psalmist,  "therefore  have 
I  spoken:"  and,  Paul,  personating  his  brethren, 
v/liile  he  vouches  tor  himself,  adopts  the  same 
rule;  "we  also  believe,  and  therefore  speak." 
ISo  honest  man  ever  acted  in  any  other  way; 
and  one  of  the  mosL  ne^eisary  qualifications  of  a 
faithful  minister,  is,  tlint  he  should  believe  in' 
his  own  heart,  what  he  declares   unto  others. 

4*- 


42 

Whoever  doubted  this?  Nay,  more;  a  man 
may  publish  to  the  world  what  he  believes  to 
be  true,  and  it  shall  be  considered  as  his  Creed: 
or  the  General  Assembly  may  declare  every 
year,  and  that  in  the  most  mathematical  order, 
the  various  moral  doctrines  its  members  may 
conceive  to  be  true,  and  these  shall  form  their 
Creed.  Still  all  this  does  not  touch  the  objec- 
tion we  are  making  to  Creeds  and  Confessions 
of  Faith.  Are  Calvin's  institutes,  Witsius' 
economy,  orDwight's  Theology,  our  Creed?  Do 
we  make  a  belief  in  any  one  of  them,  a  term 
of  communion  in  religious  ordinances?  There 
are  a  multitude  of  such  Creeds  in  the  world; 
and  "of  making  many  books  there  is  no  end." 
But  does  the  present  controversy  embrace  these, 
or  have  we  taken  up  our  pen  unceremoniously 
to  condemn  them?  The  Westminster  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  itself, — is  our  hostility  against 
Creeds  and  Confessions  directed  against  it,  as  a 
book?  Not  at  all.  It  may  be,  for  any  thing  we 
know  about  it  in  the  present  subject,  the  best 
book  that  ever  was  written;  and  the  best  Creed 
too.  But  if  it  was  an  hundred  fold  more  excel- 
lent than  it  is,  our  argument  would  be  still  unaf- 
fected, still  unanswered.  Manifestly  then,  there 
is  a  necessity  that  we  should  distinctly  declare 
what  it  is  to  which  we  object;  and  that  our 
brethren  should  meet  us  on  the  very  ground  we 
occupy:  or  this  whole  process  of  reasoning  will 
degenerate  into  wretched  and  undignifi  d  vitu- 
peration, as  though  we  had  some  petty  jealous- 
ies to  indulge,  or  some  equivocal  plans  of  per- 


43 

sonal  aggrandizenieiit  to  promote.  And  we 
claim  it  as  our  right,  to  be  treated  as  honorable 
men,  who  prize  integrity  and  a  good  conscience 
as  highly  as  our  brethren  can  do.  Nothing  else 
could  ever  induce  us  to  embark  in  this  painful, 
and,  it  may  be,  thankless,  enterprize. 

By  a  Creed  or  Confession  of  Faith,  we  un- 
derstand, not  only  an  exhibition  of  supposed 
scriptural  doctrine;  but  that  exhibition,  when  it 
is  made,  imposed  upon  the  human  conscience  as 
a  term  of  comnmnion  in  the  ordinances  of 
God^s  house.  A  denomination,  or  a  votuntanj 
associution^  is  formed,  having  t!ie  ministry  and 
the  whole  variety  of  Gospel  ordinances,  which 
is  called  the  church;  into  which  no  man  can 
enter  without  subscribing  its  Creed  or  Confes- 
sion. We  do  not  say  that  this  Creed  is  imposed 
by  ciml  authority;  that,  very  happily  for  us  who 
live  in  this  free  country,  is  not  practicable.  But, 
if  the  Creed  be  imposed  as  a  term  of  commu- 
nion in  spiritual  things,  the  principle  is  precisely 
the  same,  whether  it  be  done  by  a  civil  or  an 
ecclesiastical  court.  Other  men  have  made  a 
Creed  or  Confession  for  us,  which  we  must  re- 
ceive; and  whether  they  be  politicians  or  theolo- 
gians, who  have  undertaken  to  legislate  for  our 
consciences,  is  quite  immaterial.  The  thing 
is  done,  and  we  must  submit.  Authoritij  is 
exercised,  and  to  this  exercise  of  authority  we 
do  most  seriously  and  resolutely  object;  assert- 
ing that  the  Master  never  invested  those,  who 
use  it,  with  sucii  a  dangerous  prerogative.  He 
never  gave  them  a  right  to  say,  upon  what  prin- 


44 

ciples  his  church  should  be  formed;  but  taking 
that  matter  into  his  own  hand,  he  has  decided 
for  us  all,  and  commanded  us  to  be  of  "one 
mind,"  and  to  "love  one  another."  If  any  ima- 
gine that  they  are  duly  authorized  to  take  this 
stand  in  the  management  of  religious  things,  it 
becomes  them  to  show  their  scriptural  commis- 
sion ;  and  to  prove  that  they  have  a  divine  right 
to  make  a  Creed  or  Confession,  to  which  others 
must  bow. — We  have  now  explicitly  stated  our 
difficulty.  Some  men  undertake  to  make  a 
summary  of  scriptural  doctrines  for  other  men; 
and  bringing  that  summary  into  the  Church  of 
God,  as  substantially  a  rule  of  faith  and  morals, 
they  exclude  from  spiritual  privileges  those  who 
will  not  receive  and  adopt  it.  Where  is  their 
divine  ivarrant?  Let  this  question  be  fairly  and 
unequivocally  answered. 

We  do  not  know  how  far  the  foregoing  state- 
ment may  be  considered  as  fair;  for  we  have 
heard  some  of  our  brethren  assert  that  we  lay 
entirely  too  much  stress  upon  this  view  of  the 
subject;  and  that  Creeds  and  Confessions  are 
not  considered  as  oblv^alory  on  the  cpascience. 
There  is  in  fact  every  variety  of  opinion  about 
the  matter;  and  the  public  mind,  by  the  natural 
course  of  events,  is  exceedingly  unsettled  on  the 
questions,  what  a  Creed  is,  and  what  it  is  not.'' — • 
We  feel  it  therefore  to  be  our  duty  to  make  good 
what  we  have  said.  Dr.  Miller  will  certainly 
agree  with  us,  in  our  exposition  of  the  matter  of 
fact;  for  after  supposing  a  voluntary  association 
to  have  been  formed,   he  states  the  following 


45 

case,  ill  which  an  individual  applies  for  admis- 
sion:— '-I  demand  admittance  into  your  body, 
though  I  can  neither  believe  the  doctrines  which 
you  profess  to  embrace,  nor  consent  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  rules  which  you  have  agreed  to 
adopt. — What  answer  would  they  be  apt  to  give 
him?  They  would  certainly  reply — your  de- 
mand is  very  unreasonable.  Our  union  is  a 
voluntary  one,  for  our  mutual  spiritual  benefit. 
We  have  not  solicited  you  to  join  iis;  and  you 
cannot  possibly  have  a  right  to  force  yourself 
into  our  body.  The  whole  world  is  before  you. 
Go  where  you  please.  We  cannot  agree  to  re- 
ceive you^  unless  you  are  willing  to  walk 
with  us  upon  our  own  principles.  Such  an 
answer  would  undoubtedly  be  deemed  a  pro- 
per one  by  every  reasonable  jjerson.  Sup- 
pose, however,  this  applicant  were  still  to  urge 
his  demand;  to  claim  admission  as  a  right;  and, 
upon  being  finally  refused,  to  complain,  that 
the  society  had  'persecuted'  and  'injured'  him.'' 
Would  any  one  think  him  possessed  of  common 
sense?  Nay,  would  not  the  society  in  question, 
if  they  could  be  compelled  to  receive  such  an 
applicant,  instead  of  being  oppressors  of  others, 
cease  to  be  free  themselves.^*"  Now  all  this 
may  be  justified  by  Hie  brethren,  who  think  we 
have  very  little  to  which  to  object.  But  in 
this  case,  are  not  the  rules  of  order,  and  the 
scriptural  doctrines,  as  they  are  said  to  be,  made 
obligatory  upon  tlw  conscience?  The  voluntary 
association  formed,  we  are  told,  is  only  "a  body 

"Lecture  n.  45 — 6- 


46 

of  professing  christians,"  exercising  their  "na- 
tural right  thus  to  associate ;"  extracting  "their 
own  Creed  from  the  scriptures,"  and  agreeing  to 
act  "upon  the  principles  by  which  others  may- 
after  wards  be  admitted  into  their  number."  But 
suppose  that  this  applicant  should  happen  to  be  a 
living,  growing,  humble  christian; — and  the 
supposition  is  by  no  means  an  improbable  one:* — 
Would  Dr.  M.  or  any  other  christian  minister, 
deny  such  an  one  admission  to  spiritual  privi- 
leges, according  to  the  terras  in  which  he  has 
described  the  case,  we  have  quoted  from  his 
pages?  Most  certainly.  Into  such  an  associa- 
tion no  man  can  enter,  who  will  not  consent  to 
walk  with  its  members  on  their  own  principles; 
or,  in  other  words,  who  will  not  consent  to  re- 
ceive and  adopt  their  Creed.  The  whole  ivorld 
is  before  him.  Then  is  their  Creed  made  an  au- 
thoritative rule  of  faith  and  manners  in  the  house 
of  God;  and  the  doctrines  and  commandments  of 
men  are  invested  with  power  to  control  the  hu- 
man conscience,  of  which  God  alone  is  the  Lord. 
That  we  have  righly  defined  a  Creed  or  Con- 
fession, in  representing  it  to  be  an  authoritative 
rule,  imposed  upon  the  human  conscience  niere- 
ly  under  human  sanctions,  is  further  evident, 
from  the  manner  in  which  it  is  used,  when  a 
young  man  is  to  be  licensed  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel, or  to  be  ordained  to  the  ministry.  The  fol- 
lowing questions  are  asked  him.  ""Do  you  be- 
lieve the  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments to  be  the  word  of  God,  the  only  infallible 

"^MasonsPlea  p.  p.  6.  7. 


47 

rule  of  faith  and  manners  ?"  The  scri  ptures  then 
are  not  the  only  rule;  but  the  only  mfallible  rule. 
Another  rule  there  is  that  is  not  infallible.  And 
this  mode  of  phraseology  is  employed,  to  make 
the  way  clear  for  the  introduction  of  that  second 
rule;  which  accordingly  is  brought  forward  in 
full  form  in  the  next  question:  "Do  you  sincere- 
ly receive,  and  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith  of 
this  church,  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine 
taught  in  the  holy  scriptures?"  The  Confession 
of  the  church,  is  therefore  a  rule,  sustained  by 
the  authority  of  the  church,  the  sincere  reception 
of,  and  unequivocal  submission  to,  which,  is  a  ne- 
cessary preliminary  to  induction  into  the  minis- 
terial office.  It  is  intended  to  add  solemnity  to 
the  ceremony  of  ordination ;  to  awaken  the  atten- 
tion of  the  candidate  to  a  niost  conscientious  re- 
view of  the  nature  and  importance  of  his  official 
engagements;  and,  like  a  well  secured  contract, 
to  guaranty  to  the  church  the  fidelity  of  her 
ministers. — It  is  surely  a  mere  evasion  to  say, 
that  an  ecclesiastical  Creed  is  not  an  authorita- 
tive rule  of  faith  and  manners,  binding  upon  the 
conscience. 

But  there  is  another  official  oath,  more  refined 
and  explicit,  which  is  administered  to  the  Pro- 
fessors of  the  Theological  Seminary,  wliich  de- 
monstrates that  w^e  have  not  mistaken  the  use  to 
which  Creeds  are  applied.  The  third  secti.  n 
of  the  third  article  of  the  plan  of  the  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  is  as  follows:  "-Every  person 
elected  to  a  professorship,  in  this  Seminary, 
shall,  on  being  inaugurated,  solemnly  subscribe 


48 

tbe  Confession  of  Faith,  Catechisms,  and  Form 
of  Government  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
agreeably  to  the  following  formula,  viz.  "In  the 
presence  of  God  and  the  Directors  of  this  Semi- 
nary, I  do  solemnly,  and  ex  ammo  adopt,  receive, 
and  subscribe  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  Cate- 
chisms of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  of  America,  as  the  Confession  of  my 
Faith;  or,  as  a  summary  and  just  exhibition  of 
that  system  of  doctrine  and  religious  belief 
which  is  contained  in  holy  Scripture,  and  tlierein 
revealed  by  God  to  man  for  his  salvation ;  and  I 
do  solemnly,  ex  animo^  profess  to  receive  the 
Form  of  Government  of  said  Church,  as  agreea- 
ble to  the  inspired  oracles.  And  I  do  solemnly 
promise  and  engage,  not  to  inculcate,  teach,_or 
insinuate  any  thing  which  shall  appear  to  me  to 
contradict  or  contravene,  either  directly  or  im- 
pliedly, any  thing  taught  in  the  said  Confession 
of  Faith  or  Catechisms;  nor  to  oppose  any  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  Presbyterian  Church 
Government,  while  I  shall  continue  a  Professor 
in  this  Seminary  "  We  do  not  remember  to 
have  seen  any  thing  so  revolting  as  this,  since 
we  read  Neal's  history  of  the  Puritans; — those 
glorious  men,  who  refused  to  have  their  con- 
sciences trammelled  in  this  n:ianner.  We  con- 
fess, that  under  such  circumstances  we  can  see 
but  little  use  for  the  Bible,  and  cannot  avoid  re- 
marking, that  if  the  scriptures  should  disclose 
any  thing  to  the  Professor's  mind,  during  his 
laborious  researclics,  which  should  contravene 
any  thing  contained  in  our  sectarian  formulary, 


he  has  thus  subscribed,  either  he  must  not  de- 
clare it,  or  he  is  necessarily  absolved  from  his 
oath  by  a  higher  power,  and  thus  the  whole 
transaction,  so  awfully  solemn,  becomes  nugato- 
ry. Surely  in  this  case  a  Creed  is  a  most  fear- 
ful instrument;  exercising  authority  enough  to 
make  any  man  tremble,  and  rendering  it  a  most 
dangerous  employment  to  study  the  Bible  for 
himself. 

Let  us  state  a  case,  which  will  bring  the  sub- 
ject home  to  every  man's  bosom;  and  to  decide 
accurately  and  promptly  on  which,  will  require 
no  philosophic  subtlety.  We  shall  not  colour  it 
too  highly,  nor  substitute  the  visions  of  life  for 
its  realities.  Our  subject  seeks  no  advantage 
from  the  use  of  hyperbole.  A  young  man  of 
acknowledged  talents  and  unfeigned  piety,  covets 
employment  in  the  ministry,  after  having  endur- 
ed all  those  anxieties  which  that  subject,  as  a 
matter  of  consultation  between  his  own  soul  and 
the  great  head  of  the  church,  creates.  His  ear- 
ly history  forms  a  train  of  providential  circum- 
stances of  the  most  happy  character;  and 
every  facility  had  been  afforded  to  qualify  him 
for  the  work.  His  believing  parents  had  lent 
him  to  the  Lord.  He  lived  nigh  to  the  sanctu- 
ary, and,  like  Samuel,  as  he  grew  up,  he  was 
employed  in  its  service  according  as  opportu- 
nities occurred,  or  his  own  strength  admitted. 
lie  cannot  be  charged  w^ith  "habitual  indiscre- 
tion,'"* nor  censured  on  account  of  "a  defect  in 
sobriety  of  mind."     His  gifts,  as  far  as  he  has 

5 


50 

been  permitted  to  exercise  them,  have  procured 
for  him  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all  who 
know  him;  and  effects  have  followed,  which 
look  very  much  like  the  master's  blessing  shed 
down  upon  his  efforts,  and  now  audibly  bespeak- 
ing him  for  himself.  His  lot  has  been  cast 
among  us:  we  knew  him  from  his  infancy:  his 
education  was  conducted  under  our  eye ;  and  he 
has  become  most  affectionately  attached  to  our 
old  men,  and  our  young  men.  His  fathers  were 
labourers  in  the  same  vineyard  before  him,  and 
when  they  went  to  their  rest,  they  left  Elijah's 
mantle  to  their  young  Elisha  :  and  now  a  call 
from  the  church  demands  his  active  services. 

Such  is  the  case.  What  church  court  would 
hesitate  to  license  or  ordain  him.''  He  is  a  faith- 
ful man; — he  is  "able  to  teach  others  also."  In 
ordaining  him,  the  Presbytery  would  not  contra- 
vene the  scriptural  statute,to  "lay  hands  suddenly 
on  no  man."  The  way  to  proceed  is  perfectly 
clear,  for  every  thing  has  been  obtained  which 
tlie  scriptures  call  for.  But  a  difficulty  exists. 
He  imagines  that  our  Creed  or  Confession,  is  a 
mere  piece  of  human  legislation,  and  he  can- 
not consent  to  subscribe  to  it  as  obligatory  on 
his  conscience.  He  acknowledges  as  Lord  of 
his  conscience,  none  but  Jehovah.  Other  min- 
isters of  the  gospel,  he  views  as  his  brethren 
whom  he  can  dearly  love,  but  refuses  to  know 
them  as  the  directors  of  his  faith.  He  judges 
of  the  peculiarities  of  his  own  social  position, 
and  labours  according  to  his  ability,  to  produce 
tJiere  the  greatest  amount  of  spiritual  effect:  but 


51 

iie  shrinks  from  a  proposition,  which  constitutes 
his  brethren  at  a  distance,  or  his  fathers,  who 
have  long  since  gone  to  the  dead,  and  around 
whose  sepulchres  he  has  often  walked,  his  spirit 
saddened  by  the  multitude  of  his  own  melancho- 
ly recollections,  the  overseers  of  his  thoughts 
and  duties.  He  thinks  he  must  see  the  word  of 
life  with  his  own  eyes,  hear  it  with  his  own  ears, 
handle  it  with  his  own  hands,  and  taste  it  with 
his  own  lips.  He  knows  he  might  keep  all  this 
a  secret  with  himself,  never  whispering  to  his 
Presbytery  that  his  mind  has  been  given  up  to 
an  orbit  so  eccentric.  But  he  is  too  ingenuous. 
He  detests  vows  curtailed  by  mental  reservation, 
and  hidden  from  unsuspicious  presbyters,  but 
seen  by  the  heart  searching  God.  With  a  guile- 
less heart  and  an  open  brow,  he  frankly  con- 
fesses the  whole,  and  respectfully,  but  firmly, 
claims  his  right:  a  rights  which  exists  indepen- 
dently of  the  ivill  of  the  church  court  at  whose 
bar  he  stands;  and  the  evidence  of  whose  exist- 
ence must  be  sought  for  in  his  own  spiritual 
character  and  ministerial  qualifications. 

Now  what  shall  be  done  with  this  young 
Apollos,  who  so  dearly  loves  the  scriptures,  and 
who  is  so  jealous  of  their  honour.''  Shall  he  be 
licensed  and  ordained.''  If  he  may,  then  all  is 
granted  for  which  we  contend.  If  he  may  not, 
then  the  very  difficulty  exists  of  which  we  com- 
plain-, i  e.  a  Creed  is  an  authoritative  rule^  pre- 
scribing law  in  God's  house:  or,  in  other  words, 
our  Confession  of  Faith  is  a  himian  Bible^  con- 
taining doctrines  and  precepts,  which  it  enjoins 


upon  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  to  preach  to 
sinners  for  their  salvation. 

It  grieves  us  to  say, that  such  a  youth  would  be 
rejected  by  our  church  courts;  for  he  will  not 
agree  to  walk  with  them  on  their  own  principles. 
It  will  not  at  all  lessen  the  difficulty,  that  he  may 
connect  himself  with  any  other  religious  denomi- 
nation; for  that  is  violently  to  rupture  all  the  as- 
sociations of  his  life,  and  to  insult  all  the  fine 
feelings  of  his  heart.  And  besides,  all  these  de- 
nominations are  but  voluntary  associations,  con- 
structed on  the  same  principle;  and  he  may  range 
through  them  all,  until  he  meets  the  Racovian 
Catechism  itself,  or  some  of  its  shreds,  manu- 
factured into  a  Standard  of  Faith. 

In  such  a  case,  what  has  a  church  judicatory 
done.'  It  may  be  replied,  "We  have  refused  to 
receive  an  uncomfortable  inmate  into  our  volun- 
tary association,  even  as  a  head  of  a  family 
would  turn  an  unpleasant  guest  out  of  doors." 
But  the  question  is,  even  admitting  the  simile, 
who  is  the  Head  of  the  family  in  the  present 
case.''  Is  it  the  Presbytery,  who  has  been  making 
these  laws  of  its  own  accord,  or  is  it  the  Father 
of  mercies.''  And  can  it  be  made  appear  that 
our  heavenly  Father  has  turned  off  the  youth  of 
whom  we  have  been  speaking,  as  an  irreclaima- 
ble prodigal.'' — Suffer  us  to  declare  our  judg- 
ment. The  Presbytery  have  turned  a  living  chris- 
tian, an  amiable,  consecrated,  young  servant  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  out  of  the  visible  church  of 
God  ;  they  have  desecrated  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  where  a  purified  spirit  ministers  under 


53 

his  heavenly  impulses,  have  refused  him  a  right 
and  a  privilege  to  which  he  is  equally  entitled 
with  themselves.  Tlie  cup  of  ecclesiastical  life, 
which  sparkled  in  his  hands,  they  have  cruelly 
dashed  from  his  lips.  They  have  denied  him  the 
crumbs  that  fall  from  his  father's  table,  and  have 
sent  him  out  into  the  wide  world,  that  waste, 
howling,  wilderness,  without  a  christian  com- 
panion, and  as  much  alone  as  Elijah  among  the 
idolaters  of  Israel  He  must  go  and  seek  that 
sympathy  among  strangers,  which  is  denied  to 
hivn  among  his  brethren;  or,  wail  his  fate,  like 
David,  when  the  sparrows  nestled  over  the  altars 
of  God,  whence  he  was  driven  by  those  of  his 
own  house.  And  where  is  their  warrant?  Let 
them  show  us  the  sign  manual  of  the  King  of 
saints.  We  refuse  to  justify  such  proceedings 
on  any  other  ground. — We  charge  none  of  our 
brethren  with  any  infeidion  to  do  these  things:  for 
we  believe  them  to  be  conscientious  men.  But 
such,  in  our  view,  is  the  consequence  of  the 
Creed-making  system,  and  therefore  do  we  object 
to  it. 

We  are  not  alone  in  entering  our  protest 
against  this  ecclesiastical  oppression.  The  West- 
minster Assembly  itself, — that  venerated  body, 
which  our  brethren  are  so  fond  of  eulogizing, 
as  forming  a  most  beautiful  and  brilliant  constel- 
lation in  their  ecclesiastical  hemisphere,  cluster- 
ing on  their  horizon,  and  gilding  it  with  the 
loveliness  of  the  morning,  and  which  had  never- 
theless its   own    faults   and  weaknesses;— the 

5* 


54 

Westminster  Assembly  itself,  never  pressed  their 
own  Confession  of  P^aith  into  this  extreme  of 
legislative  control.  We  are  told,  that — "Not- 
withstanding the  zeal  expressed  against  tolera- 
tion, the  Confession  of  Faith  it  drew  up  was  not 
made  the  legal  standard  of  orthodoxy.  It  was 
not  subscribed  by  any  member  of  that  Assem- 
bly, except  by  the  prolocutor,  assessors,  and 
clerks,  J\or  till  forty  years  after  was  a  sub- 
scription or  assent  to  it  required  of  any  layman 
or  ministei\  as  a  term  of  christian  communion. 
And  Mr.  Nye,  a  member  of  that  Assembly,  in- 
forms us,  when  the  Scots  Commissioners  pro- 
posed, that  the  answers  in  the  shorter  catechism 
should  be  subscribed  by  all  tJie  members,  the  mo- 
tion was  rejected;  after  a  considerable  number 
had  shown  it  was  an  unwarrantable  imposition.'''^* 
Our  brethren  have  been  too  quick  in  uttering 
their  severe  criticisms.  They  themselves  have 
been  making  a  use  of  their  own  Confession  of 
Faith,  which  its  framers  never  designed;  and 
have  been  pressing  it  upon  the  consciences  of 
christians  in  the  present  day,  to  an  extent,  which 
those  very  divines,  assembled  by  right  of  civil 
authority,  condemned  as  unwarrantable.  Nay, 
more: — in  our  retrograde  movements  to  the  reign 
of  spiritual  tyranny,  we  are  required  to  sub- 
scribe, not  merely  the  shorter  catechism,  but 
ihe  ivhole  book', — a  dose  of  legislative  poison, 
which  even  the  Scots  Commissioners  them- 
selves, in  those  days,  could  not  swallow.  If  we 
pronounce  this  matter  of  subscription,  as  it  is 

*  Nears  History  of  Pur.  vol.  3,  p.  387.  Note. 


55 

received  in  the  present  day,  to  be  an  unwaiTant- 
able  imposition,  we  have  violated,  vs^e  know  not 
what  solemn  oath;  we  have  broken,  we  know 
not  what  social  compact.  We  must  be  very 
heavily  censured  for  awful  criminality;  must 
meet  suspicions  of  the  most  unbrotherly  and 
palsying  kind ;  must  be  traduced  as  atfected, 
and  maddened  by  the  action  and  re-action  of 
some  unholy  alliance;  and  must  be  ranked 
among  the  worst  troublers  of  the  church.  If 
we  mistake  not;  if  our  principle  of  intellec- 
tual living  has  not  been  paralyzed  amid  the 
visions  of  a  vitiated  fancy;  and  if,  in  our  bo- 
soms, conscience  has  not  succumbed  to  some 
unhallowed  motive  we  cannot  detect;  then  is 
there  something  in  this  subject  of  divine  au- 
thority, or  of  human  authority  sinfully  trans- 
formed into  the  divine  prerogative,  that  ill  one 
day  convulse  the  whole  christian  world.  And 
if  the  subject  is  now  about  to  -summon  christian 
ministers,  in  the  character  of  plaintitf  and  de- 
lendant,  again  to  argue  out  their  religious  cere- 
monies, on  jure  divino  principles,  we  beseech 
them  to  remember  that  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  is  a  looker  on;  and  that  these  things, 
which  are  now  done  upon  God's  Holy  Mount, 
shall  presently  be  told  in  the  eternal  world. 
O  wiiat  an  anxious  hour  shall  that  be,  when  the 
signs  of  the  times; — tokens  in  the  heavens  above, 
and  tokens  in  the  earth  beneath— tokens  more 
fearful  than  the  '^blackness,  and  darkness,  and 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  voice  of  words," 
which  shook  Mount  Sinai   to   her  base,  and 


5Q 

made  Moses  so  "exceedingly  fear  and  quake" — 
more  portentous  than  those  bloody,  fiery  sym- 
bols, which  overliung  the  ill-fated  Metropolis 
of  Judea,  the  murderess  of  our  Lord ; — what  an 
hour  shall  that  be,  when  the  signs  of  the  times 
shall  announce,  that  the  end  of  the  world  is  at 
hand!  "My  soul  trembleth  for  fear  of  thee,  and  I 
am  afraid  of  thy  judgments,"  O  Lord!  "Who 
would  not  fear  thee,  O,  King  of  nations?" 

The  following  quotation  fully  agrees  with  the 
judgment  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  ex- 
presses our  ideas  with  great  point  and  force  It 
is  from  "a  Treatise  on  Civil  Power  in  Ecclesias- 
tical Causes,"  written  by  the  great  Milton,  that 
true  son  of  human  liberty;  who,  had  he  lived  in 
our  day,  and  in  our  country,  might  have  found 
ample  scope  for  all  the  powers  of  his  mighty 
genius,  in  the  cause  which  was  so  dear  to  his 
heart:  "Seeing,  therefore,  that  no  Man,  no 
Synod,  no  Session  of  men,  though  called  the 
Church,  can  judge  definitively  the  sense  of  scrip- 
ture to  another  man''s  Conscience,  which  is  well 
known  to  be  a  general  maxim  of  the  Protestant 
religion;  it  follows  plainly,  that  he  who  holds  in 
religion  that  belief,  or  those  opinions  which  to 
his  Conscience  and  utmost  understanding  ap- 
pear with  most  evidence  or  probability  in  the 
Scripture,  though  to  others  he  seem  erroneous, 
€an  no  more  be  justly  censured  for  a  heretic  than 
his  censurers;  who  do  but  the  same  thing  them- 
selves, while  they  censure  him  for  so  d(nng. 
For  ask  them,  or  any  Protestant,  which  hath 
most  authority,  the  Church  or  Scripture  ?    They 


57 

will  answer,  doubtless,  that  the  Scripture:  and 
what  hath  most  authority,  that  no  doubt  but 
they  will  confess  is  to  be  followed.  He  then, 
who  to  his  best  apprehension  follows  the  Scrip- 
ture, though  against  any  point  of  doctrine  by 
the  whole  church  received,  is  not  the  heretic: 
but  he  who  follows  the  Church,  against  his  Con- 
science and  persuasion  grounded  on  the  Scrip- 
ture, To  make  this  yet  m.ore  undeniable,  T  shall 
only  borrow  a  plain  simily;  the  same  which  our 
own  writers,  when  they  would  demonstrate 
plainest,  that  we  rightly  prefer  the  Scripture  be- 
fore the  Church,  use  frequently  against  the  Pa- 
pist in  this  manner.  As  the  Samaritans  believ- 
ed Christ,  first  for  the  woman's  word,  but  next 
and  much  rather  for  his  own,  so  we  the  Scrip- 
ture: first,  on  the  Church's  word,  but  afterwards 
and  much  more  for  its  own,  as  the  word  of  God; 
yea,  the  Church  itself  we  believe  then  for  the 
Scripture.  The  inference  of  itself  follows:  if 
by  the  Protestant  doctrine,  we  believe  Scripture, 
not  for  the  Church's  saying,  but  for  its  own  as 
the  word  of  God,  then  ought  we  to  believe  what 
in  our  conscience  we  apprehend  the  Scripture  to 
say,  though  the  visible  Church,  with  all  her 
Doctors  gainsay:  and  being  taught  to  believe 
them  only  for  the  Scripture,  they  who  so  do 
are  not  heretics,  but  the  best  Protestants:  and 
by  their  opinions,  whatever  they  be,  can  hurt  no 
Protestant,  whose  rule  is  not  to  receive  them  but 
from  the  Scripture;  which  to  interpret  convincing- 
ly to  his  own  conscience,  none  is  able  but  him- 
self, guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  not  so  guid- 


58 

ed,  none  than  he  to  himself  can  be  a  worse  de- 
ceiver. To  Protestants  therefore,  whose  com- 
mon rule  and  touchstone  is  the  Scripture,  noth- 
ing can  with  more  conscience,  more  equity, 
nothing  more  Protestantly  can  be  permitted,  than 
a  free  and  lawful  debate  at  all  times,  by  writing, 
by  conference,  or  disputation  of  what  opinion 
soever,  disputable  by  Scripture:  concluding,  that 
no  man  in  religion  is  properly  a  heretic  at  this 
day,  but  he  who  maintains  traditions  or  opinions, 
notprobable  by  Scripture,  who,  for  aught  I  know, 
is  the  Papist  only;  he  the  only  heretic,  who 
counts  all  Heretics  but  himself." 

We  presume  we  are  now  fully  understood, 
as  to  the  unlawful  use  which  is  made  of  Creeds 
in  the  house  of  God.  They  are  mere  human 
instruments  employed  as  authoritative  rules. 
And  though  in  some  respects  they  ai^  practic- 
ally abandoned,  as  we  shall  hereafter  evince, 
yet,  as  far  as  our  church  courts  liave  p(Jwer  to 
sustain  them,  they  are  enforced  as  rules  binding 
on  the  conscience.  And  we  say,  that  Jehovah, 
the  only  Lord  of  conscience,  has  delegated  no 
such  power  to  man.  Let  men  make  as  many 
Creeds  as  they  please ;  let  them  publish  them  as 
often  as  they  please ;  let  them  combine  together 
and  make  them  as  minute  and  philosophical  as 
they  please;  but  let  them  not  impose  their  Creeds, 
when  they  are  thus  made,  upon  the  consciences 
of  others,  and  erect  them  into  ecclesiastical 
ordinances,  as  though  they  were  enacted  by  di- 
vine authority  Let  them  not  make  them  terms 
of  communion  between  Christ  and  his  redeem- 


59 

ed;  or  turn  out  of  the  visible  church,  as  un- 
worthy of  spiritual  fellowship,  those  who  have 
other  and  better  evidences  of  their  christian 
character,  than  submission  to  the  command- 
ments of  men.  The  Master  himself  never  act- 
ed thus.  lie  did  not  demand  the  belief  of  men 
to  the  simple  declai^ation  of  his  divine  mission; 
but  the  Spirit  of  God  attested  his  words  as  true. 
He  appealed  to  his  works  as  a  demonstration 
suited  to  the  canacities  of  his  hearers,  and  as 
leaving  them  without  excuse.  Every  oppo- 
nent is  struck  dumb  by  the  self-evident  arj^ument 
he  advanced,  or  confounded  by  the  miracles  he 
performed.  The  Apostles  did  not  shut  up  the 
avenues  of  inquiry,  nor  condemn  the  noble  Be- 
reans  for  examining;  the  scriptures,  to  ascertain 
whether  what  they  had  preached  was  true  or 
not.  And  if  in  our  day  men  were  not  called  to 
subscribe  a  Creed  made  ready  to  tlieir  h^mds; 
if  they  were  not  reduced  to  the  cruel  and  un- 
rii^liteous  alternative  of  receiving  what  our 
church  courts  may  be  pleased  to  call  giospel,  or 
of  being  shut  out  from  religious  ordinances;  if 
every  man  was  required,  as  the  nature  of  the 
case  requires  him,  to  preach  what  he  has  learn- 
ed for  himself  from  the  Bible,  and  what  he  can 
demonstrate  to  be  there  by  trains  of  reasoning, 
such  as  men  adopt  on  every  other  popular  sub- 
ject; and  if  the  people  were  made  to  feel  the  im- 
perious necessity  of  searching  the  scriptures  for 
themselves,  and  that  with  many  prayers  and  tears, 
a  very  important  change  would  soon  ?al.e  place. 
Ministers  would  betake  themselves  to  the  Bible 


6@ 

instead  of  systems  of  theology;  the  Lord  of 
hosts  would  be  to  them  "for  a  crown  of  glory, 
and  for  a  diadem  of  beauty,  and  for  a  spirit  of 
judgment,"  when  they  sit  as  ministerial  judges 
in  Mount  Zion's  heavenly  seats ;  and  the  sabbath 
would  become  their  spiritual  jubilee,  when  they 
should  be  heard  to  pray  and  preach,  as  though 
an  unction  had  come  down  upon  them  from  hea- 
ven: while  the  people  would  read  more,  think 
more,  pray  more,  and  grow  more  than  they  do. 
They  would  alike  feel  the  full  stress  of  personal 
responsibility;  their  "faith  would  not  stand  in 
the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God ;" 
and  the  opinions  of  the  fathers  would  not  be  so 
popular  a  substitute  for  their  own  personal  ef- 
forts. A  Creed  they  would  all  have;  a  better 
Creed  than  they  have  now;  a  Creed  which  each 
one  would  form  under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  a  Creed  which — we  believe,  and  there- 
fore speak — would  shut  out  the  multitude  of 
errors  our  bretliren  seem  to  apprehend,  and  pro- 
duce union  and  harmony,  in  a  measure  which 
never  has  existed  since  ecclesiastical  councils 
first  took  the  faith  of  mankind  into  their  own 
hands.  But  a  Creed,  imposed  by  human  autho- 
rity, calling  for  an  impracticable  uniformity,  in 
words  and  ideas,  transmitting  its  influence  from 
age  to  age,  and  cutting  down  the  conceptions  of 
men  to  its  own  requisitions,  whatever  changes 
may  occur  in  the  world,  we  cannot  away  with. 
Here  is  where  we  have  our  unwilling  contest 
with  our  brethren,  and  where  we  intend  to  meet 


m 

iliem  with  all  the  firmness,  affection,  and  zeal  we 
possess.  "Now  God  himself  and  our  Father, 
and  our  Lord  Jesus  Clirist  direct  our  way." 


SECTION  3. 


Many  christians,  who  have  had  neither  lei- 
sure nor  opportunity  to  examine  the  subject  for 
themselves,  imagine,  that  tlie  primitive  church 
was  an  ecclesiastical  body,  regulated  by  Presby- 
teries, Synods,  Assemblies.  Conferences,  Conven- 
tions, or  Associations,  liketliosevve  have  now. 
Such  an  impression  is  the  natural  consequence 
of  long  established  usage:  and  in  the  present 
case,  it  has  become  deep  and  fixed,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  these  institutions  have  been  re- 
presented as  established  by  divine  rio^ht.  Of 
course  it  is  quite  natural  to  look  for  an  annual 
convocation  of  delegates,convened  from  all  parts, 
to  take  cognizance  of  the  whole,  and  duly  au- 
thorized ()  settle  questions  of  doctrine,  and  de- 
termine cases  of  discipline.  They  will  be  very 
mud)  surprised  to-be  told  that  this  was  not  the  f-ict. 
That  in  those  early  times,  the  churches,  though 
Presbyterian,  were  yet  in(Jependenf;  and  that  tliey 
were  not  joined  together  by  any  such  confedera- 
cy, as  we  have  been  in  the  habit  of  supposing 
so  t'ssential  to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  re- 
ligion.    A  great  part  of  the  second  century  had 

6 


62 

elapsed  before  these  associations  were  formed^ 
and  during  that  period,  the  churches  were 
connected  together  hy  no  "other  bonds  than  those 
of  CHARITY."  The  custom  of  holding  Councils 
commenced  in  Greece,  where  "nothing  was 
more  common  than  this  confederacy  of  indepen- 
dent states,"  as  a  mere  poliiical  expedient;  and, 
after  all  that  has  been  said  in  favour  of  Councils, 
they  were  a  mere  imitation  of  the  political  in- 
stitutions of  ihat  country.  This  is  historical 
fact,  if  the  ecclesiastical  historians  we  have  con- 
sulted speak  truth. 

It  is  our  province,  after  making  such  asser- 
tions, to  present  our  proof.  Our  first  appeal 
shall  be  to  the  pages  of  the  learned  Dr.  ]\Io- 
sheim,  whose  volumes  are,  with  great  confidence, 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  rising  ministry,  and 
whose  fidelity  as  a  historian  will  not  be  disputed. 

In  his  introduction,  when  detailing  the  sub- 
jects of  which  he  conceived  himself  called  upon 
to  treat,  he  remarks; — '"'•In  that  pait  of  the  sacred 
history  which  relates  to  thedoctrjnes  of  Christi- 
anity, it  is  necessary,  above  all  things,  to  inquire 
pajticularly  into  the  degree  of  authority  that 
has  been  attributed  to  the  sacred  writings,  in  all 
the  different  periods  of  the  church,  and  also  into 
the  manner  in  which  the  divine  doctrines  they 
contain,  have  been  explained  and  illustrated. 
For  the  true  slate  of  religion  in  every  age  can 
only  be  learned  froni  the  point  of  view  in  which 
these  celestial  or  cles  were  considered,  and  frr^m 
tl  e  inauner  in  which  they  v.  ere  exponideii  to  the 
people.     Jis  ion^  as  tlie^  were  the  only  rule  of 


65 

Faith,  religion  preserved  Us  native  purify,  and 
in  proportion  as  their  decisions  were  either  neg- 
lected or  postponed  to  the  rswentions  of  men,  it 
degenerated  fro  in  its  primitive  and  divine  simpii- 
cittjy*  This  is  very  plain  language,  and  deserves 
the  attention  of  tliose  who  inquire  hovv  the 
church  could  possibly  survive  the  renunciation 
of  human  Creeds?  As  the  inventions  of  men, 
the  historian  declares  it  to  have  been  a  uniform 
fact,  that  the  church  did  better  without,  than 
with,  them;  and  that  they  became  the  very  means 
of  corrupting  the  faith  of  the  church. 

In  giving  his  view  concerning  the  doctrine  of 
the  christian  church  during  the  first  century; 
after  having  stated  that  the  Bible  was  the  rule  of 
faith  and  practice;  and  declared  the  solicitude  of 
the  Apostles  and  their  disciples  to  put  tiiat  book 
into  the  hands  of  all  christians;  Dr.  Mosheirn 
goes  on  to  inform  us  of  the  method  of  teaching 
religion  during  that  period; — "The  method  of 
teaching  the  sacred  doctrines  of  religion,  was, 
at  this  time,  most  simple,  far  removed  from  all 
the  subtile  rules  of  philosophy,  and  all  the  pre- 
cepts of  human  art.  This  appears  abundantly, 
hot  only  in  the  writings  of  the  Apostles,  but 
also  in  all  those  of  the  second  centanj,  which 
have  survived  the  ruins  of  time.  JVeither  did 
the  Jlpostles,  or  their  disciples,  ever  think  of  col- 
lecting into  a  regular  sijslem  the  principal  doc- 
tnntsof  the  christian  religion,or  of  demo)istrating 
them  in  a  scientific  and  geometrical  order.  The 

*  Mosheim's  Ecclesiastical  History,  page  5. 


beautiful  and  candid  simplicity  of  these  early 
ages  rendered  such  philosophical  niceties  unne- 
cessary ;  and  the  great  study  of  those  who  em- 
braced the  gospel,  was  rather  to  express  its  di- 
vine influence  in  their  dispositions  and  actions, 
than  to  examine  its  doctrines  with  an  excessive 
curiosity,  or  to  explain  them  by  the  rides  of  hu- 
man wisdom. 

"There  is  indeed  extant,  a  brief  summary  of 
the  principal  doctrines  of  Christianity  in  that 
fonn^  which  baars  the  name  of  the  Apostles'^ 
Creed.^  and  which,  from  the  fourth  century  down- 
wards, was  almost  generally  considered  as  a  pro- 
duction of  the  Apostles.  All,  however,  who 
have  the  least  knowledge  of  antiquity,  look  up- 
on this  opinion  as  entirely  false  and  destitide  of 
all  foundation.  There  is  much  more  reason 
and  judgment  in  the  opinion  of  those,  who 
think  that  this  Creed  was  not  all  composed  at 
once,  but  from  small  beginnings  was  impercepti- 
bly augmented,  in  proportion  to  the  growth  of 
heresy,  and  according  to  the  exigencies  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  church,  from  whence  it  was 
designed  to  banish  the  errors  that  daily  arose."* 

We  have  nothing  told  us,  in  the  foregoing  ex- 
ti^act,  of  these  authoritative  rules  of  faith  and 
manners,which  are  now  imposed  upon  the  human 
conscience.  On  the  contrary,  their  very  exis- 
tence is  plainly  denied,  and  the  Bible  itself  is 
declared  to  be  tlie  standard  of  the  churches. 
There  is  not  even  a  re^'ular  detail  of  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  as  forming  a  happy  instrument 

^  Vol.  I.  p.  113—14. 


65 

of  spiritual  instruction,  attempted.  The  Chris- 
tians of  these  early  ages,  adopted  a  very  differ- 
ent method  of  imparting  to  their  offspring  a  reli- 
gious education:  '^They  took  all  possible  care  to 
accustom  their  children  to  the  study  of  the  scrip- 
tures, and  to  instruct  them  in  the  doctrines  of 
their  holy  religion;  and  schools  were  every  where 
erected  for  this  purpose,  even  from  the  very 
commencement  of  the  Christian  church."*  And 
even  the  Apostles'  Creed  itself,  as  to  its  origin, 
is  declared  to  be  equivocal:  and  not  one  sen- 
tence is  uttered  about  any  sanction  it  received 
from  any  such  measure  of  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ty, as  is  now  exercised. 

Further,  and  in  relation  to  the  first  century, 
this  historian  informs  us,  that — "The  churches, 
in  those  early  times,  were  entirely  independent; 
none  of  them  subject  to  any  foreign  jurisdiction, 
but  each  one  governed  by  its  own  rulers  and  its 
own  laws.  For,  though  the  churches  founded 
by  the  Apostles,  had  this  particular  deference 
shewn  them,  that  they  were  consulted  in  difficult 
and  doubtful  cases;  yet  they  had  no  juridical 
authority,  no  sort  of  supremacy  over  the  others, 
nor  the  least  right  to  enact  laics  for  tiiem.  No- 
thing, on  the  contrary,  is  more  evident,  than  the 
perfect  equality  that  reigned  among  the  primitive 
churches ;  nor  does  there  even  appear,  in  this 
first  century,  the  smallest  trace  of  that  associa- 
tion of  provincial  churches,  from  which  Councils 
and  Melroijolilans  derive  their  origin.     It  was 

*Ib.  p.  116. 

6* 


66 

only  in  tlie  second  century  that  the  custom  of  holdr 
ing  Councils  commenced  in  Greece,  from  whence 
it  soon  spread  through  the  other  provinces.'"! 
This  doctrine  of  human  authority  cohtrolliog 
religious  matters,  had  not  been  formed  at  so  early 
a  period;  when,  as  Jerome  expresses  it,  ''the 
blood  of  Christ  was  yet  warm  in  the  breasts  of 
Christians,  and  the  faith  and  spirit  of  religion 
were  brisk  and  vigorous."  It  is  an  exotic  in  the 
church,  which  may  be  nourished  and  forced  by 
unnatural  heat:  but  it  is  not  one  of  Calvary's 
plants,  germinating  under  the  dews  of  the  Spirit 
of  inspiration,  and  blossoming  by  Apostolic  cul- 
ture:— its  fruit  is  yielded  under  here3y''s  deadly 
night-shade. 

Following  our  historian  down  to  the  second 
century,  he  gives  us  the  following  statement — 
^'During  a  great  part  of  this  century,  the  Chris- 
tian churches  were  independent  on  each  other;: 
nor  were  they  joined  together  by  association, 
confederacy,  or  any  other  bonds,  but  those  of 
charity.  Each  Christian  assembly  was  a  little 
state,  governed  by  its  own  laws,  which  were 
either  enacted,  or,  at  least,  approved  by  the  So- 
ciety. But,  in  process  of  time,  all  the  Christian 
churches  of  a  province  were  formed  into  one 
large  ecclesiastical  body,  which,  like  confederate 
states,  assembled  at  certain  times,  in  order  to 
deliberate  about  the  common  interests  of  the 
whole.  This  institution  had  its  origin  among 
the  Gireeks,  with  whom  nothing  was  more  com- 
mon, than  this  confederacy  of  independent  states,, 

+  lb.  p.  105. 


67 

and  the  regular  assemblies  which  met,  in  conse- 
quence thereof,  at  fixed  times,  and  were  com- 
posed of  the  deputies  of  each  respective  state. 
But  these  ecclesiastical  associations  were  not 
long  confined  to  the  Greeks ;  their  great  utility* 
was  no  sooner  perceived,  than  they  became  uni- 
versal, and  were  formed  in  all  places  where  the 
gospel  had  been  planted.  To  these  assemblies, 
in  which  the  deputies  or  commissioners  of  seve- 
ral churches  consulted  together,  the  name  of 
Synods  was  appropriated  by  the  Greeks,  and  that 
of  Coit)ic?7s,  by  the  Latins;  and  the  laws  that 
were  enacted,  in  these  general  meetings,  were 
called  canons^  i.  e.  rules. 

"These  Councils,  of  which  we  find  not  the 
smallest  trace  before  the  middle  of  this  century, 
changed  the  ivhole  face  of  the  church,  and  gave 
it  a  new  form;  for  by  tJieni  the  ancient  privi- 
leges of  tlie  people  were  considerably  diminished^ 
and  the  power  and  authority  oj  tlie  bishops 
greatly  augmented.  The  humility,  indeed,  and 
prudence  of  these  pious  prelates  prevented  their 
assuming  all  at  once  the  power  with  which  they 
were  afterwards  invested.  At  their  first  ap- 
pearance in  these  general  Councils,  they  ac- 
knowledged that  they  were  no  more  than  the 
delegates  of  their  respective  churches,  and  that 
they  acted  in  the  name,  and  by  the  appointment, 
of  tJie  people.  But  they  soon  changed  this 
humble  tone,  imperceptibly  extended  the  limits 
of  their  authority,  turned  their  influence  into 
dominion,   and    their  Councils   into  laws;  and: 

*  Quere. 


68 

openly  asserted,  at  length,  that  Christ  had  ein- 
poivered  them  to  prescribe  to  his  people  authori- 
tative rules  of  faith  and  manners.  Another 
effect  of  these  Councils  was,  the  gradual  aboli- 
tion of  that  perfect  equality,  which  reigned 
among  all  bishops  in  the  primitive  times.  For 
the  order  and  decency  of  these  assemblies  re- 
quired, that  some  one  of  the  provincial  bishops 
met  in  Council,  should  be  invested  with  a  supe- 
rior degree  of  power  and  authority;  and  hence 
the  rights  of  Metropolitans  derive  their  origin. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  bounds  of  the  church 
were  enlarged,  the  custom  of  holding  Councils 
was  followed  wherever  the  sound  of  the  gospel 
had  reached ;  and  the  universal  church  had  now 
the  appearance  of  one  vast  republic,  formed  by 
a  combination  of  a  great  number  of  little  states. 
This  occasioned  the  creation  of  a  new  order  of 
ecclesiastics,  who  were  appointed,  in  different 
parts  of  the  world,  as  heads  of  the  church,  and 
whose  office  it  was  to  preserve  the  consistence 
and  union  of  that  immense  body,  whose  mem- 
bers were  so  widely  dispersed  throughout  the 
nations.  Such  was  the  nature  and  office  of  the 
Patriarchs.,  among  whom,  at  length,  ambition, 
being  arrived  at  its  most  insolent  period,  formed 
a  new  dignity,  investing  the  bishop  of  Rome., 
and  his  successors,  with  the  title  and  authority 

of  PRINCE    OF    THE    PATRIARCHS."! 

Here  then  we  have  the  rise  of  ecclesiastical 
power,  constructing  its  claims  upon  the  ruined 
privileges  of  individual  conscience,  and  absorb- 

t  lb.  p- 174—6. 


09 

ing  the  inalienable  rights  of  man;  its  gradual 
advances,  its  accelerated  growth,  while  Chris- 
tians became  sluggish,  and  Bishops  grew  am- 
bitious; and  the  awful  extreme  of  despotic 
sway  to  which  it  hastened,  even  in  those  first 
ages  of  Christianity,  to  which  appeals  are  so 
often  made  with  the  most  ungenerous  confidence. 
Here  we  have  that  retrograde  movement  in- 
spiritual  things,  wliich  degraded  the  Church 
from  the  dignified  simplicity  of  being  under  law 
to  Christ,  dressed  her  off'  in  the  meretricious 
attire  of  human  institutions,  and  exchanged  the 
glorious  principles  of  the  new  covenant,  for  the 
forbidding  peculiarities  of  a  human  compact. 
Here  we  have,  in  an  altered  form  of  government, 
the  unity  of  the  Church  expounded  as  a  polit- 
ical principle,  instead  of  that  pure,  spiritual, 
ethereal  subsistence,  denominated  "the  unity  of 
tlie  Spirit."  Here  we  have  the  origin,  of  those 
authoritative  rules  of  faith  and  manners,  which 
have  so  completely  taken  the  place  of  the  Bible^ 
that  unless  they  are  received,  spiritual  privi- 
leges are  forfeited.  And  surely  there  has  been 
nothing  like  a  divine  ivarrant  exhibited  and 
proved;  nor  any  thing  more  than  a  mere  tran- 
script of  historical  facts,  proving  how  quickly, 
and  how  entirely,  religious  society  maybe  cor- 
rupted. It  is  utterly  in  vain  to  tell  us  of  any 
Creed  or  Confession,  introduced  by  any  Apos- 
tolical Father  or  Fathers,  as  a  bond  of  union 
in  the  Church,  when  the  Church  was  united  by 
no  other  bonds  than  those  of  cliariii/;  or  of  an 
authoritative    rule  of  faith  and  manners,  when 


10 

the  Church  had  not  yet  conceived  the  idea  ol' 
ecclesiastical  power.  "-Letters-  of  Commun- 
ion," it  would  seem,  were  freely  exchanged; 
but  that  idea,  which  transformed  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  who  ought  to  have  been  among  the 
most  kind  and  compassionate  of  mortals,  into 
Lords  over  God''s  heritage,  was  never  formed, 
until  that  ecclesiastical  measure,  which  created 
Synods  and  Councils,  had  changed  the  whole 
face  of  the  churchy  and  given  it  a  neivform.  It 
is  utterly  in  vain  to  tell  us,  that  this  new  policy, 
while  marked  by  a  great  deal  of  clerical  modes- 
ty, was  just  as  bad  as  when  the  bishops  became 
bold  adventurers,  uttered  their  pretensions  in  the 
loudest  tones,  and  brought  Christendom  to  their 
feet.  And  surely  it  is  worse  than  vain,  to  at- 
tempt to  convince  us  that  the  glorious  simplici- 
ty of  the  christian  church  w^as  preserved,  when 
church  courts  came  out  with  their  full  grown 
prerogative,  of  majestic  mien,  and  royal  air,  de- 
claring that  they  were  empowered  to  enact  rules 
for  the  human  conscience. 

It  is  manifest  that  this  historical  portrait^which 
Dr.  Mosheim  has  drawn,  represents  more  than 
the  deteriorated  condition  of  the  church  during 
the  second  century.  We  must  therefore  follow 
him  down  through  the  third  and  fourth  centu- 
ries, and  observe  the  gigantic  strides  of  this 
ecclesiastical  power,  which  mismanaged  circum- 
stances had  created.  In  the  third  century,  he  in- 
forms us: — "The  face  of  things  began  to  change 
in  the  christian  church.  The  ancient  method 
of  ecclesiastical  government,  seemed,  in  gene- 


71 

vai,  still  to  subsist,  while,  at  the  same  time,  by- 
imperceptible  steps,  it  varied  from  the  primitive 
rule,  and  degenerated  towards  the   form  of  a 
religious  monarchy..     For  the  bishops  aspired  to 
higher  degrees  of  power  and  authority  than  they 
had  formerly   possessed ;  and   not  only  vi/)l(ited 
the  rights  of  the  peopU\  but  also  made  gradual 
encroachments  upon  the  privileges  of  the  Pres- 
byters.    And  that  they  might  cover  these  usur- 
jyatioiis  with  an  air  of  justice,  and   an   appear- 
ance of  reason,  they  published  iww  doctrines 
concerning  the   nature   of   the  church,   and   of 
the  episcopal  dignity.,  which,  however,  were,  in 
gerieral,  so   obscure,  that   they  themselves  seem 
to  have  understood   them   as   liitle  as  those  to 
whom  they  were  delivered.     One  of  the  princi- 
pal authors  of  this  chanjie,  in  the  government  of 
the  church,  was  Cyprian,  who  pleaded   for  the 
power  (tf  the  bishops  with  more  zeal  and  vehe- 
mence than  had  ever  been  hitherto  employed  in 
that  cause,  though   not  w  ith  an   unshaken    con- 
stancy   and    perseverance;   for,  in  difficult   and 
perilous  times,  necessity  sometimes  obliged  him 
to  yield,    and  to   submit  several  things   to   the 
judgment  and  anikority  of  the  Church.''''* 

Again.,-''The  bishops  assumed,  in  many  places, 
a  princely  OM//<on7</,  particularly  those  who  had 
the  greatest  nu<nber  of  churches  under  their 
inspection,  and  who  presided  over  the  m-jst 
opulent  assemblies  Tiiey  appropriated  to  their 
evangelical  function  the  splendid  ensigns  of 
ftnipoioL  majesty.     A  throne,  suiTounded  witk 

•  lb.  p.  258—9. 


7g 

ministers,  exalted  above  his  equals  the  sen'ant 
of  the  meek  and  humble  Jesus;  and  sumpUious 
garments  dazzled  the  eyes  and  the  minds  of  the 
multitude,  into  an  ignorant  veneration  for  their 
mrogated  authmity^  The  example  of  the 
Bishops  was  ambitiously  imitated  by  the  Pres- 
hylers^  who,  neglecting  the  sacred  duties  of  their 
station,  abandoned  themselves  to  the  indolence 
and  delicacy  of  an  effeminate  and  luxurious 
life.  The  Deacons^  beholding  the  Presbyters 
deserting  thus  their  functions,  boldly  usurped 
their  rights  and  privileges;  and  the  eftects  of  a 
corrupt  ambition  were  spread  tlirough  every 
rank  of  the  sacred  order."* 

So  much  for  the  third  century.  In  the  fourth 
appeared  Constantine  the  Great,  who.  having 
been  converted  to  Christianity  in  consecjuence 
of  seeing  a  miraculous  Cross  in  the  air,  spread 
universal  joy  among  Clnistians  by  becoming  the 
PATRON  of  the  Church.  But  Constantine,  v\  ho 
was  very  far  from  leading  a  religious  life,  instead 
of  breaking  up  this  dominion  over  the  human 
conscience,  confirmed  and  extended  it; — apj)ro- 
priating  to  himself  the  pre-eminence,  "though 
he  permitted  the  church  to  remain  a  body  politic, 
distinct  from  that  of  the  state,  as  it  had  formerly 
been,  yet  he  assumed  to  himself  the  supreme 
power  over  this  sacred  body,  and  the  right  of 
modelling  and  governing  it  in  such  a  manner,  as 
sht-uh:  be  most  conducive  to  the  public  good. 
This  right  he  enjoyed  without  any  opposition, 

*Ib.  p.  p.  269—60 


73 

as  none  of  the  bishops  presumed  to  call  his  au- 
thority in  qiicstio!!.''*  The  people  ciiose  their 
bishops;  the  bishops  governed  their  districts; 
the  provincial  councils  governed  their  provinces, 
and  Constantine,  at  the  head  of  oecumenical  or 
general  councils,  groverned  the  whole. 

The  first  of  these  general  councils,  which 
owed  their  existence  and  authority,  not  to  the 
commandments  of  the  Lord  Jesus  given  in  the 
Bible,  but,  to  the  political  schemes  of  this  eulo- 
gized emperor,  assembled  at  Nice,  in  Bithynia, 
in  the  year  325,  and  was  composed  of  318 
bishops.  In  this  assembly,  the  disputes  be- 
tween Alexander  and  Arius  on  the  subject  of  the 
Trinity,  among  other  matters,  on  vvhich  it  was 
thouglit  proper  that  the  council  should  legislate 
for  the  peace  of  the  ciiurch,  were  to  be  adjusted 
by  the  exercise  of  absolute  poujer.  Our  histo- 
rian says,  that  ''after  many  keen  debates,  and 
violent  efforts  of  the  two  parties,  the  doctrine  of 
Arius  was  condemned;  Christ  declared  c"0U8-;6- 
sta  itial^  or  of  the  same  essence,  with  the  Fa- 
ther; the  vanquished  presbyter  banished  among 
the  Illyrians;  and  his  followers  compelled  to  f>;ive 
their  assent  to  the  Creed  or  Confession  of  Faith^ 
which  IV  IS  composed  bij  this  council.''''*  Reader, 
behold  the  origin  of  Creeds  and  Confessions  of 
Faith;  cv,  of  authoritative  rules  of  iaith  and 
manners  in  the  church  of  God;  for  vvhich  so 
en-iiest  a  plea  is  now  advanced,  as  though  they 
had  been  sanctioned  by  the  master  himself,  and 

*Ib-  n,   402—3 


u 

had  been  framed  by  the   light  of  pentecostal 
fires. 

It  is  surely  to  be  supposed  that  the  church 
now,  under  the  happy  auspices  of  a  fixed 
Creed,  and  the  mild  reign  of  a  Christian  empe- 
ror, enjoyed  universal  peace,  and  that  her  mem- 
bers lived  together  in  great  union  and  harmony. 
For  this,  we  are  told,  is  the  peculiar  value  of  a 
Creed.  But  the  fact  was  directly  the  reverse. 
For  though,  out  of  318  bishops,  Arius  was 
supported  only  by  twenty-two ;  and  but  two  of 
theF«i  persisted  in  refusing  to  subscribe  the 
Creed,  the  controversy  was  far  from  being  set- 
tled. "The  commotions  it  excited,  remained 
yet  in  the  minds  of  many,  and  the  spirit  of  dis- 
sension and  controversy  triumphed  both  over  the 
decrees  of  the  council,  and  the  authority  of  the 
emperor.  For  those,  who,  in  the  main,  were 
far  from  being  attached  to  the  party  of  Arius, 
found  many  things  reprehensible  both  in  the  de- 
crees of  the  council,  and  in  the  forms  of  expres- 
sion which  it  employed,  to  explain  the  contro- 
verted points;  while  the  Ariaiis,  on  the  other 
hand,  left  no  means  untried  to  heal  their  wound, 
and  to  recover  their  place  and  their  credit  in  the 
church.  And  their  efforts  were  crowned  with 
the  desired  success.*"*  In  the  year  330,  Arius 
was  recalled;  the  laws  enacted  against  him 
were  repealed;  and  he  was,  by  the  emperor's 
permission,  to  be  admitted  into  the  church,  on 
condition  of  his  declaring  his  adherence  to  the 
orthodox   Creed.     Dr.    Milner   says,  that   the 

*Ib.  p.  405. 


75 

emperor  "sent  for  him  therefore  to  the  palace, 
and  asked  him  plainly,  whether  he  agreed  to 
the  Nicene  decrees.  The  heresiarch,  without 
hesitation,  subscribed:  the  Eniperor  ordered  him 
to  swear;  he  assented  to  this  also."*  So  that 
this  artful  chief,  whom  the  orthodox  could  not 
detect  by  simply  using  the  scriptures,  was  able 
to  foil  Ihem  at  last  by  subscribing  their  own 
Creed:  and  it  moreover  appears,  that  "though 
victorious  in  argument  in  the  face  of  the  whole 
world,  with  the  Council  of  Nice,  and  an  ortho- 
dox emperor  on  their  side,  they  yet  were  perse- 
cuted and  oppressed,  and  their  enemies  prevail- 
ed at  court." 

Nor  is  this  all.  When  one  council  had 
formed  a  Creed^  other  councils  thought  they  had 
an  equal  right  to  frame  Creeds  too:  and  a  num- 
ber of  Creeds  are  presented  to  us  by  ecclesias- 
tical historians,  in  a  very  short  period  after  the 
Nicene  decrees  were  so  gloriously  ushered  into 
the  world.  Socrates,  after  writing  their  history, 
undertakes  to  give  a  recapitulation :  "Now  having 
at  len',!;th  run  over  the  confuse  muUitude  of  Creeds 
and  Forms  of  Fmih^  let  us  once  again  briefly  re- 
peat the  nuaiber  of  thenj.  After  the  Creed  that 
was  laid  dovm  by  the  Nicene  council,  the  bishops 
framed  two  others  at  Antioch,  when  they  assem- 
bled to  the  dedication  of  tlie  church.  The  third 
was  made  in  France  of  the  bishops  which  were 
with  Narcissus,  and  exhibited  unto  the  Emperor 
Constantine.  The  fourth  was  sent  by  Eudoxius 
unto    the    bishops    throughout    Italy.     Three 

"Milner's  Eco.  His.  vol.  2— p.  82. 


76 

were  published  in  writing  at  Sirmiiim,  whereof 
one  being  gloriously  entitled  with  the  names  of 
consuls,  was  read  at  Ariminum.  The  eighth 
was  set  forth  at  Seleucia,  and  procured  to  be 
read  by  the  complices  of  Acaoius.  The  ninth 
was  given  abroad,  with  additions  at  Constantino- 
ple; there  was  thereunto  annexed,  that  thence- 
forth there  should  be  no  mention  made  of  the 
substance  or  subsistency  of  God.  Whereunto 
Ulphilas,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  then  first  of 
all  subscribed:  for  unto  that  time  he  embrac- 
ed the  faith  eslablished  by  the  Council  of  Nice, 
and  was  an  earnest  follower  of  Theophilus'  steps, 
bishop  of  the  Goths,  who  had  been  at  the  Ni- 
cene  Council,  and  subscribed  unto  the  Creed* 
But  of  these  things  thus  much  *'* 

It  must  be  very  evident,  that  the  whole  circum- 
stance of  deciding  controversy  by  authoritative 
rules  of  human  invention,  sustained  by  ecclesi- 
astical councils,  was  a  novelty  even  in  that  age; 
and  that  this  boasted  measure  of  ministerial  skill, 
produced  as  little  eifect  in  quieting  disturbances, 
and  promoting  imity,  then,  as  it  does  now.  Sub- 
scription to  Creeds  was  as  equivocal  a  transac- 
tion in  those,  as  it  is  in  these,  days,  and  as  it 
must  ever  be,  while  such  a  system  is  pursued,  or 
while  theology  is  converted  into  a  human  sci- 
ence, instead  of  being  unequivocally  illustrated 
as  proceeding  from  divine  authority.  The  Ni- 
cene  Creed  has  long  since  lost  all  its  control; 
and  other  Creeds,  which  are  in  existence  now, 
and  which  have  derived  all  their  importance 

*Ecc.  His-  Lib.  2.  ch-  32 


77 

from  an  excitement  produced  in  ages  past,  must 
soon  loose  their  control  too;  if  indeed  their  sun 
has  not  long  since  set,  and  another  day  has  not 
already  dawned  upon  the  Christian  world.  We 
have  been  passing  through  one  of  those  periodi- 
cal revolutions  which  are  incidental  to  our  earth- 
ly condition ;  and  it  must  soon  be  demonstrated 
to  all,  who  (lo  not  hang  behind  the  changes  of 
their  own  age,  that  the  disturbances,  which  the 
Westminster  Assembly  was  convened  to  allay, 
formed  but  wretched  indexes  of  the  present  times; 
that  those  men,  however  great  and  good,  were 
utterly  disqualified  to  legislate  for  the  more,  or 
less,  fortunate  circumstances  of  this  day;  and 
that  the  spiritual  institutions  of  America  must 
not  be  regulated  by  religious  precedents  derived 
from  Elngland,  Ireland,  or  Scotland.  We  must 
take  up,  in  its  most  liberal  import,  the  reforma- 
tion motto,  the  Bible^  the  Bible  is  the  religion  of 
Protestants.  And  how  great  the  blessing,  th.at 
the  Bible  is  the  charter  of  human  liberty!  Was 
it  a  mere  political  arrangement  on  which  we 
were  obliged  to  rely,  hope  on  this  delightful 
subject  might  prove  a  mere  illusion;  all  human 
complaints  would  be  hushed  into  sepulchral  si- 
lence; and  the  innnorlal  spirit  of  man  must  le- 
main  in  everlasting  "chains  of  darkness."  i]ut 
if  Jehovah  grants  this  boon,  and  his  own  gospel 
freely  proclaims  it,  then  shall  the  angels  of  his 
presence  shout,  and  the  stars  of  the  morning 
sing — glory  to  God,  and  freedom  to  men.  Surely 
they  are  to  be  both  pitied  and  blamed,  who  would- 


not  suffer  the  Bible  to  exert  its  own  unlimited 
sway  over  human  minds. 


SECTION   4. 


We  intend  in  this  section  to  give  the  testimo- 
ny of  some  other  writers  on  the  subjects  we  have 
in  hand.  That  is  to  say,  on  the  origin  and  use 
of  ecclesiastical  councils,  and  on  the  importance 
which  is  to  be  attached  to  their  decisions.  We 
hope  thereby  to  make  it  appear,  that  there  is  no 
just  reason,  why  we  should  go  so  far  back  in  the 
history  of  religious  corruptions,  to  satisfy  our- 
selves upon  a  question,  which,  with  the  Bible  in 
our  hands,  we  are  fully  qualified  to  determine 
for  ourselves ;  and  which,  at  all  events,  the  fath- 
ers had  no  right  to  determine  for  us. 

Dr.  Du-Pin,  in  his  history  of  the  three  first 
centuries,  on  the  article  of  the  Councils  held 
during  that  period,  remarks; — "Councils  are 
assemblies  composed  of  Bishops  and  Priests, 
which  are  held  to  deliberate  upon  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  to  make  decisions  about  tlw  true  faith^  to 
res^ulate  the  'policy  and  manners  of  Christians,^ 
or  punish  the  blame-worthy." — This  is  defining 
their  powers  with  as  liberal  constructions  as  we 
could  have  asked,  in  defence  of  the  position  we 
have  taken.  Their  business  was  to  make  rules  of 
faith  and  manners  for  the  christian  world;  which 
we  say  no  church  court,  in  that  age,  nor  in  any 


79 

other  d.^c  since,  has  been  empowered  to  make. 
With  all  clue  allowance  for  the  historian's  secta- 
rian connexions,  we  quote  his  historical  declara- 
tion as  a  true  assertion  of  the  ecclesiastical  pre- 
rogative, with  which  these  bodies  thought  them- 
selves invested,. 

He  proceeds:  "The  original  of  those  assem- 
blies is  as  ancient  as  the  church  of  the  three  first 
centuries.  The  Apostles  gave  a  pattern  of  them 
in  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  to  deliberate  whe- 
ther the  ceremonies  cf  the  law  were  to  be  ob- 
served. That  usage  was  afterw^ards  followed  in 
the  church,  when  any  differences  arose,  or  when 
it  was  necessary  to  make  any  regulations." — In 
tracing  back  these  councils  to  the  first  three  cen- 
turies for  their  origin,  this  historian  agrees  in 
his  testimony  with  Mosheim.  In  referring  to 
the  council  at  Jerusalem  as  the  pattern  to  which 
they  were  conformed,  we  beg  leave  to  say,  that  we 
have  the  scriptural  document  in  our  own  hands, 
and  chuse  to  judge  for  ourselves; — the  council  at 
Jerusalem  never  exercised  such  control  over  the 
human  conscience,  as  we  shall  show  in  its  owa 
place.  But  if  he  intends  to  say  that  there  were 
other  councils,  before  the  moral  desolations  of 
the  second  century  were  spread  out  to  view,  he- 
is  not  only  contradicted  by  Mosheim,  but  he  is 
inconsistent  with  himself,  as  will  be  evident  from 
his  own  words,  before  we  have  finished  with 
our  quotation. 

"Those  assemblies,"  he  continues,  "were- 
more  rare  in  the  three  first  centuries,  and  not 
so  famous  as  in  the  following  ages;  as  well  be- 


80 

cause  the  persecutions  of  the  pagan  emperors 
hindred  the  bishops  from  assembling  freely  and 
publicly,  as  because  the  traditions  of  the  Jipos- 
tles  being  yet  tiew^  it  was  not  necessary  to  as- 
semble councils  in  order  to   own   the  truth,  and 
condemn  error.     'Tis  for  this  reason,  we  don't 
read  in   any  autliors  of  credit,  that    councils 
were  held  to  condemn  most  of  the  first  heretics 
whom  I  have  been  speaking  of     The  errors  of 
those  heretics  created  horror  in  all  christians; 
they  looked  upon  the  authors  of  them,  and  those 
who  maintained   them,  as  people  excommuni- 
cated  and  separated  from   the  church,  without 
their  being  expressly  condemned  in  synods.    In 
fine,  evei^y  bisJwp  instructed  his   own  people  in 
the  faith  of  the  churchy  and  refuted  errors  by  the 
authority  of  scripture^  and  tradition.''^     If  there 
had    been    any    thing  like    these   authoritative 
rules,  these  superadded  tests  of  orthodoxy,  sui'e- 
ly  this  author  must  have  noticed  them.     They 
would  have   answered  his  purpose  full  as  well 
as,  if  not  better  than,  the  traditions  of  the  Apos- 
tles to  which  he  refers.     The  fact  is,  that  there 
were  no  such  Creeds  in  existence ;  and  yet  there 
was  as  much  need  for  them  then,    as  there  has 
been  since,  or  can  be  now.     Their  bishops  had 
no  opportunity  to  assemble  and  make  them,  even 
if  they  had  thought  of  them.     They  had  enough 
to  do  in  contending  for  the  common  faith,  which 
they  could  all  learn  from  tlie  scriptures ;  and  fear- 
ful persecution  formed  the  test  of  their  sincerity: 
so  much  so,  that  Tertullian  remarked,  that   the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed  which  pro- 


8! 

duced  an  abundant  harvest  of  new  christians. 
And  there  was  no  very  great  difficulty  in  detect- 
in*5  and  excludinji;  heretics:  these  were  censured 
and  avoided  by  common  consent,  under  the  ope- 
ration of  that  inherent  power,  which  religious 
society  has,  like  all  other  societies,  to  regulate 
itself  according  to  its  own  constituent  princi- 
ples. Every  bishop  could  then  instruct  his  own 
people  according  to  his  own  ability,  and  take 
the  scriptures  for  his  guide,  unfettered  by  the 
decrees  of  councils,  or  the  laboured  systems  of 
philosophic  divines. 

Our  historian  goes  farther:  "The  first  coun- 
cils mentioned  in  ecclesiastical  history,  were 
those  that  were  held  towards  the  end  of  the  se- 
cond century,  upon  occasion  of  the  dispute 
among  the  churches  about  Easter.  The  church  of 
Rome,  according  to  its  ancient  usage,  never  cele- 
brated that  day  but  upon  a  Sunday^  the  day  of 
our  Saviour's  resurrection,  and  waited  till  the  first 
Sunday  after  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon  of 
March.  On  the  contrary,  the  churches  of  Asia 
and  some  others  celebrated  it,  as  the  Jews  did, 
on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon  of  March, 
whatever  day  of  the  w^eek  it  fell  upon.  When 
St  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  came  to  Rome, 
under  the  pontificate  of  Anicelus,  they  conferr- 
ed together  upon  that  diff"erence,  and  not  being 
able  to  persuade  one  another  to  quit  their  cus- 
tom, they  parted  good  friends,  reckoning  that  so 
small  a  difference  ought  not  to  break  the  peace 
of  the  churches.  But  under  the  pontificate  of 
pope   Victor  that  dispute  grew  warm;  for  that 


82 

pope  having  wrote  to  the  bishops  of  Asia,  to 
conform  themselves  to  the  usage  of  ihe  church 
of  Rome,  Poly  crates,  bishop  of  Ephesus,  as- 
sembied  the  bishops  of  Asia,  and  vs  rote  a  letter 
to  Pope  Victor,  wherein  he  strenuously  main- 
tained the  usage  of  his  church,  and  the  other 
churches  of  the  east.  Victor  likewise  assem- 
bled a  council  at  Rome,  wheiein  it  was  resolved 
to  separate  from  communion^  Polycrates^  and 
tlie  other  bishops  of  Jisia^  that  would  not  follow 
the  usage  of  the  church  of  Rome^  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  Easier.  Victor  sent  them  the  synodical 
letter  of  that  council,  by  which  Jw  declared 
them  excommunicated.  There  was  also  a 
council  held  at  Palestine,  in  which  presided 
Theophilus,  bishop  of  Cesarea,  and  Narcissus, 
bishop  of  Jerusalem.  The  bishops  of  Pontus, 
over  which  presided  Palmas,  wrote  likewise  a 
synodical  letter  upon  the  same  subject;  and  St. 
Irenaeus  directed  a  letter  to  Victor  in  the  name 
of  the  churches  of  France,  wherein  he  remon- 
strates, that  although  in  those  churches  they  ce- 
lebrated Easter  on  Sunday,  as  at  Rome,  yet  he 
could  not  approve  his  excommunicating  whole 
churches  for  keeping  up  a  custom  which  they 
had  received  from  their  ancestors:  and  acquaint- 
ed him,  that  it  was  not  only  about  Easter,  but 
likewise  about  fasts.,  and  several  other  practices 
that  the  churches  differed  in  their  customs.  'Tis 
probable  that  Victor  yielded  to  the  reasons  of  St. 
Irenasus;  for,  although  the  Asiatics  did  not  quit 
their  usage,  yet   we  do  not  find  that  the  peace 


83 

was  broke  betwixt    them  and    the  bishops  of 
Rome." 

We  have  then  once  more  traced  back  these  eccle- 
siastical councils  to  tlie  secon  1  century,  and  have 
found  their  orij^in  there.  Their  business  again 
appears  to  be,  to  exercise  authority  over  huiuan 
consciences,  which  was  never  delegated  to  them; 
and  to  excommunicate  from  spiritual  privileges 
those  who  would  not  submit  to  their  catwns. 
Though  still,  there  is  no  evidence  of  their  at- 
tempting at  so  early  a  period  to  form  a  Creed^ 
or  a  general  system  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  thus  fully  to  take  into  their  hands  the 
entire  conscience  of  the  christian  church.  That 
was  an  ecclesiastical  measure  too  presumptuous 
for  the  first  councils  to  have  conceived.  It  would 
have  been  hazardous  for  them  to  have  attempted 
so  much,  when  what  they  did  attempt,  was  so 
manfully  resisted.  Had  they  stretched  cheir  prero- 
gative so  far,  thei'e  would  have  been  a  protest  so 
vigorous  and  universal,  that,  we  were  going  to 
say,—  and  would  say,  did  not  the  history  of  the 
church  since  the  reformation  forbid  us, — we 
should  never  have  heard  of  an  authoritative  ride 
of  faith  and  manners,  of  human  mvention,  in 
the  church  of  God. 

We  have  not  given  any  unfair  turn  to  this  his- 
torian's testimony,  when  we  have  recorded  it  as 
most  decisively  in  our  favour.  For  he  had  a  fine 
opportunity  of  proclaiming  the  existence  of  these 
Creeds,  if  he  could  have  found  them,  when  clos- 
inf:  his  acc^mt  of  the  lives  and  actions  of  the 
Apostles.  And  he  does  then  most  distinctly  allude 


84 

to  the  subject,  and  has  said  all  he  could  say  coh- 
sistently  with  truth.  His  words  are  as  follows: 
"But,  it  may  be  said,  had  not  the  Apostles,  be- 
fore tuey  separated,  drawn  up  a  short  formula- 
ry of  tlie  principal  points  they  were  to  teach?  Is 
not  that  the  same  w^hich  we  call  the  Apostles' 
Creed?  It  is  certain  that  comes  from  the 
Apostles,  as  to  the  substance  of  it^  and  that  it 
contains  the  principal  points  of  the  doctrine  the 
Apostles  taught  uniformly  to  all  the  Churches, 
which  preserved  them.  Rufinus,  and  some  an- 
tients  have  also  said,  that  the  Apostles  made  a 
Creed  before  they  separated ;  but  it  is  not  certain 
thai  it  was  exactly  in  the  same  words,  for  the 
ancient  churches  had  several  Creeds,  differing 
as  to  some  expressions,  though  uniform  in  doc- 
trine 

"There  is  no  question  to  be  made,  but  that 
the  Apostles  regulated  the  discipline  of  the 
churches  they  founded:  but  it  does  not  appear, 
that  they  made  any  other  regulations  in  uritim^^ 
but  that  of  the  council  of  Jerusalem;  for  the 
canons  called  the  Apostolical  Canons  were 
not  made  by  the  Apostles;  but  are  rather  a  col- 
lection of  Antient  Canons  made  by  the  Bishops 
durino;  the  three  first  centuries  of  the  church, 
and  therefore  called  Apostolical  Canons^  or 
Canotis  of  the  Fathers.  The  Constitutions 
which  bear  the  name  of  the  Apostles,  are  a  work 
made  up  long  njter  them.  "It  is  thus  evidently 
impossible  to  trace  back  these  human  rules  to 
th'^  Apostles.  They  never  sought  a  lordship 
over  God's  heritage,  nor  permitted  christian  so- 


S5 

cieties  to  be  called  after  their  names.  They 
never  interposed  their  authority  to  crush  the  per- 
sonid  responsibility  of  their  hearers,  or  to  stamp 
their  own  image  upon  them.  They  never  curb- 
ed human  spirits,  occupied  by  processes  of 
thought  which  it  is  the  glory  of  intelligent 
beings  to  pursue,  by  their  own  laws;  nor  sought 
to  lash  into  a  childish  uniformity,  those  varieties 
of  human  intellect  and  christian  graces,  which 
are  the  ornament  of  our  world.  They  left  be- 
lievers as  they  found  them,  the  freemen  op 
THE  Lord;  and  Creeds,  the  offspring  of  human 
genius  wildly  speculating  about  things  divine, 
came  in  long  after  they  had  gone  to  their  rest; 
the  paragon  of  that  love  of  pre-eminence,  which 
John  so  severely  rebuked  in  the  person  of 
Diotrephes.  Our  historian  has  no  contrary  fact 
to  give  us,  even  when  he  would  make  the  histo- 
r'latl  record  of  what  he  had  learned  by  painful 
and  laborious  research ;  and  tJie  several  Creeds 
of  the  ancient  clmrcJies^  to  which  he  alludes, 
have  as  little  to  do  with  the  present  controversy, 
as  the  Apostles'  Creed; — which  shall  be  shown 
hereafter. 

We  are  now  about  to  invite  the  attention  of 
our  readers  to  quotations  from  the  pages  of  an- 
other writer,  whose  various  reading  in  ecclesi- 
astical  history  will  be  as  little  disputed,  as  his 
interest  in  the  present  controversy.  We  allude 
to  Dr.  Miller;  who,  we  think,  has  been  too  in- 
cautious in  his  introductory  lecture  on  the  utili- 
ty of  Creeds  and  Confessions;  and  to  the  vo- 

8 


S6 

lumes  which  he  published  in  the  Episcopal  cou^ 
troversy,  a  few  years  since.  T\e  think  that  in 
the  letters  which  he  then  published,  he  fully 
agrees  with  us  in  the  principles  on  which  we  are 
arguing.  There  are  two  volumes,  and,  though 
not  so  marked,  we  shall,  for  the  sake  of  brevity, 
distinguish  them  in  our  references  as  first  and 
second.     He  there  says, 

"We  are  accustomed  to  look  back  to  the  first 
ages  of  the  church  with  a  veneration  nearly 
bordering  on  superstition.  It  answered  the  pur- 
poses of  Popery,  to  refer  all  their  corruptions  to 
priiiiitive  times,  and  to  represent  those  times  as 
exhibiting  the  models  of  all  excellence.  But 
every  representation  of  this  kind  must  be  re- 
ceived with  distrust.  The  Christian  church, 
during  the  apostolic  age,  and  for  a  half  a  centu- 
ry afterwards,  did  indeed  present  a  venerable 
aspect.  Persecuted  by  the  world  on  every  side, 
she  was  favoured  in  an  uncommon  measure  with 
the  presence  and  Spirit  of  her  Divine  Head,  and 
exhibited  a  degi-ee  of  siniplkily  and  purify^ 
ivlnch  /jos,  perhaps,  never  sinee  been  eqnctlfd. 
But  before  the  close  of  the  second  century,  the 
scene  began  to  change;  and  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  fourth,  a  deplorable  corrup- 
tion of  doctrine,  discipline,  and  morals,  had 
crept  into  the  church,  and  disfigured  the  body  of 
Christ.  Hegesippus,  an  ecclesiastical  historian, 
declares  that  the  vir2;in  purity  of  the  clmrch  was 
confined  to  the  days  of  the  Aposttes.'''*  Now 
with  all  this  we  agree ;  and  are  in  fact  objecting 

"  Vol-  1— p.p.290— 1. 


87 

to  that  very  veneration  with  which  these  first 
ages  of  the  church  are  treated,  when  a  refer- 
ence is  made  to  thetn  on  our  present  suhject. 
For,  as  Dr.  M.  remarks  in  another  part  of  the 
same  volume — '"Even  supposing  you  had  found 
such  declarations  in  some  or  all  of  the  early 
Fathers;  what  then?  Historic  fad  is  not  divine 
insliluliony^ 

Again,  when  remarking  on  the  shorter  epis- 
tles of  Ignatius,  Dr.  M.  says — '•'•It  is  equally 
evident,  that  the  Presbijlers  and  Presbytery^  so 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  extracts, 
to.2;ether  with  the  Deacons^  refer  to  officers 
which,  in  the  days  of  Ig^naiius  belonged,  like 
the  bishop,  to  each  particular  church.  Most 
of  the  epistles  of  this  Father,  are  directed  to 
particular  churches:,  and  in  every  case.,  we  find 
each  church  furnished  with  a  Bislvop.,  a  Pres- 
bytery and  Deacons. — In  sliort,  to  every  altar.,  or 
communion  fable.,  there  was  one  Presbytery.,  as 
imil  as  one  Bishop. '^''j  We  understand  this  as  as- 
serting what  we  liave  already  expressed,  that  in 
those  early  ages,  the  churches,  though  Pres- 
by'erian^  were  independent.  We  are  aware 
that  the  genuineness  of  these  epistles  of  Igtiaiius 
have  been  called  in  question,  and  that  Dr.  Tvl. 
states  that  fact.  But  his  whole  argument  in 
favour  of  Parochial  and  against  Diocesan  Epis- 
copacy., proceeds  upon  the  principle,  which  those 
epistles,  according  to  the  extract,  declare.  Dio- 
cesan   Episcopacy  may  have   its  peculiarities; 

'  p.  164.        t  lb-   146— 7- 


8S 

but  still  it  has  its  assimilation  to  our  Presbytery, 
in  that  an  ecclesiastical  power  is  formed  in  both 
cases,  whose  province  extends  beyond  the  bourds 
of  a  particular  church ;  and  an  entrance  is  thus 
made  upon  that  system  of  synods  and  councils, 
which  "changed  the  whole  face  of  the  churcn 
and  gave  it  a  new  form." 

We  now  oifer  another  extract,  on  the  subject 
of  synods  and  councils^  which  we  consider  as 
one  of  the  greatest  fountains  of  ecclesiastical 
corruption  that  ever  have  been  unsealed,  if  we 
are  permitted  to  form  our  judgment  from  the 
details  of  ecclesiastical  history. — "That  the 
Synods  and  Councils  which  early  began  to  be 
convened,  were,  in  fact,  thus  employed  by  the 
ambitious  clergy,  to  extend  and  confirm  their 
power,  might  be  proved  by  witnesses  almost 
numberless.  The  testimony  of  one  shall  suffice. 
It  is  that  of  the  great  and  good  bishop,  Gregm^y 
JS'azianzen^  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century, 
and  who,  on  being  summoned  by  the  emperor 
to  the  general  council  of  Constanlinople^ 
which  met  in  S81,  addressed  a  letter  to  Pro- 
copius^  to  excuse  himself  from  attending.  In 
this  letter  he  declares,  Hhat  he  was  desirous  of 
avoiding  all  synods.,  because  he  had  never  seen 
a  good  effect,  or  happy  conclusion  of  any  one 
of  them;  that  they  ratlier  increased  than  lessened 
the  evils  they  were  designed  to  prevent;  and 
that  the  love  of  contention.,  and  the  hist  of  poiv- 
er,  were  there  manifested  in  instances  innumer- 
able.' And,  afterwards,  speaking  of  that  very 
council,  this    pious  Father    remarks; — '•These 


89 

conveyers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  these  preachers 
of  peace  to  all  men,  grew  bitterly  outrageous 
and  clamorous  against  one  anotlier,  in  the  midst 
of  the  church,  mutually  accusing  each  other, 
leaping  about  as  if  they  had  been  mad,  under 
the  furious  impulse  of  a  lust  of  power  and  do- 
minion, as  if  they  would  have  rent  the  whole 
world  in  pieces.'  He  afterwards  adds,  "this  was 
not  the  effect  of  piety,  but  of  a  contention  /or 
thrones.''''*^  Such  were  the  framers  of  Creeds 
and  Confessions  in  the  early  ages  of  tlie  church- 
es; and  such  were  the  circumstances,  from 
which  these  instruments  of  oppression,  started 
forth  in  living  and  stately  form: — Dr.  M.  himself 
being  judge. 

But  we  have  another  class  of  quotations  to 
make,  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  M.  which,  while  they 
express  generally  what  has  been  offered,  assert 
something  more,  and  meet  the  views  we  are  ad- 
vocating more  fully.  They  are  the  following: — 
"I  shall  not  now  stay  to  ascertain  what  degree 
of  respect  is  due  to  the  writings  of  the  Fathers 
in  general.  It  is  my  dutij^  however,  to  state, 
that  we  do  not  refer  to  them,  in  any  wise^  as  a 
nile  either  af faith  or  practice  We  acknowledge 
the  scriptures  alone  to  be  such  a  rule.  By  this 
rule,  the  Fathers  themselves  are  to  be  tried;  and, 
of  course,  they  cannot  be  considered,  properly 
speaking,  as  tlie  Cliristian'^s  authority  for  any 
thing.  It  is  agreed,  on  all  hands,  that  they  are 
not  infallible  guides:  and  it  is  perfectly   well 

•  lb.  328—9. 

8* 


90 

known  to  all  who  are  acquainted  with  their  wri- 
tinii,s,  that  many  of  them  are  inconsistent  both 
with  themselves,  and  with  one  anotlier.  We 
protest,  therefore,  utterly  against  any  appeal  to 
them  on  this  subject.  Tkougk  they^  or  an  an- 
gei  from  heaven^  should  bring  us  any  doctrine, 
as  essential  to  the  order  and  well-being  of  the 
church,  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Word  of 
God,  we  are  bound  by  the  command  of  our  Mas- 
ter, to  reject  them."* 

"In  examining  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  I 
shall  admit  only  the  testimony  of  those,  who 
wrote  within  the  first  two  centuries.  Im- 
mediately after  this  period,  so  many  corruptions 
began  to  creep  into  the  church;  so  many  of  the 
most  respectable  christian  writers  are  known  to 
have  been  heterodox  in  their  opinions;  so  much 
evidence  appears,  that  even  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  third  century,  the  Papacy  be- 
gan to  exhibit  its  pretensions;  and  such  multi- 
plied proofs  of  wide-spreading  degeneracy  cro>vd 
into  view,  that  the  testimony  of  every  subse- 
quent writer  is  to  be  received  with  suspicion."! 
Again — ^'- When  we  have  proved  that  the  Apos- 
tolic church  existed  without  diocesan  bishops,  we 
have  done  enough.  No  matter  how  soon  alter 
the  death  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  close  of  the 
sacred  canon,  such  an  order  of  ministers  was 
introduced.  Whether  the  introduction  of  this 
order  were  effected  in  four  years,  or  four  centu- 
ries after  that  period,  it  equally  rests  on  human 
authority  aloae^  and   is  to  be  treated  as  a  mere 

*  lb.  p.  p.  124—5.  t  lb.  p.  126. 


n 

contrivance  and  commandment  of  men.  We 
canivji  too  often  repeat.^  nor  Loa  diligeiiily  keep 
in  view,  that  the  authorily  of  Chnst  can  be 
claimed  for  nothing  vvhicli  is  not  found,  in  mine 
form.,  in  his  own  word."'^ 

Again — "'But  although  I  am  not  conscious  of 
departing  either  from  me  letter  or  the  spirit  of 
that  Confession  of  i'\dlk  which  I  iiave  soieuiuly 
subscribed;  and  although  I  am  conhdent  that  my 
Presb} terianism  is  substantially  the  same  with 
that  ol'  Calvin  and  Knox;  yel  let  us  remember 
that  we  are  to  call  no  man.,  or  body  of  men, 
M  (sL_:r  on  earth.  One  is  our  jUa&ttr,  even 
CiL'  isL  His  word  is  the  sole  Standaid  by  vvliich, 
as  Christians,  or  as  Churches,  we  must  stand  or 
fall.  Happy  wdl  it  be  for  us,  if  we  can  appeal 
to  the  great  bearciier  of  hearts,  that  we  have 
not  followed  the  traditions  and  inventions  of 
man.,  but  live  sure  word  of  jmrpliecy^  which  is 
given  to  us  to  be  a  light  to  our  Jed.,  and  a  lamp 
to  our  path.,  to  guide  us  in  the  way  of  peace P''] 

Once  more — '"Sulfer  me,  my  brethren,  again  to 
remind  you  of  the  principle  on  w  Inch  we  proceed, 
iri  ihis  part  of  oui  inquiry,  II  it  could  be  denion- 
strated  from  the  writ.ngs  of  the  Fathers,  thai,  in 
one  hundred,  or  even  in  fifty  years,  after  the  death 
of  the  last  apostle,  the  system  of  i/iocesan  Epis- 
copacy had  been  general!)  adopted  in  the  cliurch, 
it  would  be  nothing  to  the  purpose.  As  long  as 
no  traces  of  this  fact  could  be  found  in  the  Bi- 
hk.,  but  much  of  a  directly  opposite  nature,  ive 
should  stand  on  a  secure  and  immoveable  foun- 

"  lb.  p.  286.  t  Vol.  2,  p.  p.  72    3. 


92 

datian.  To  all  reasonings,  then,  derived  from 
the  Fathers^  I  answer  with  the  venerable  Augus- 
tine^ who,  when  pressed  with  the  authority  of 
Cyprian^  replied,  'His  writings  I  hold  not  to  be 
canonical,  but  examine  them  by  the  canonical 
writings:  And  in  them,  what  agreeth  with  the 
authority  of  divine  scripture,  I  accept,  with  his 
praise;  what  agreeth  not,  I  reject  with  his 
leave.'  "* 

Now  with  these  sentiments  of  Dr.  M.  we  do 
most  heartily  conicide.  Our  doctrine,  let  it  be 
remembered,  has  been,  and  still  is,  that  the  Bi- 
ble is  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice;  the 
'•^sole  standard^  by  which,  as  christians,  or  as 
churches,  we  must  stand  or  fall;"  and  that,  in 
relation  to  the  authority  of  ecclesiastical  offi-- 
cers  and  church  courts,  we  are  to  '•'•call  no  man, 
nor  any  body  of  men,  master  on  earth."  We 
are  not  contending  for  any  thing  more  than  this: 
and  the  argument,  when  used  by  us  against 
Creeds  and  Confessions,  as  authoritative  rules  of 
faith  and  manners,  is  surely  as  good  and  conclu- 
sive, as  when  Dr  M.  uses  it  against  Episcopa- 
lians, when  he  would  maintain  the  scriptural 
view  of  ministenal  parity.  Are  we  not  plead- 
ing for  ministerial  parity  ?  Now,  why  does  Dr. 
M.  in  liis  introductory  lecture,  say, — "that  the 
great  Protestant  maxim,  that  the  Bible  is  the 
ONLY  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  manners,  is  a 
precious,  all  important  truth,  and  cannot  be 
too  often  repeated,  if  it  be  properly  understood?'*'^ 
We  do  not  comprehend  him.  We  really  thought 

*  lb.  p.  149. 


93 

that  we  understood  it;  that  we  understood  it  as 
Dr  M.  appears  to  understand  it,  in  the  extracts 
we  have  made;  and  as  we  think  every  man  must 
understand  it,  who  has  any  acquaintance  with 
the  English  language.  But  it  would  appear 
from  his  parenthetical  proviso^  that  there  is 
some  obscurity  about  this  protestant  maxim, 
and  that  it  requires  some  ecclesiastical  logician 
to  explain  its  terms.  Can  it  mean  after  all, 
that  there  is  another  rule  of  faith  and  man- 
ners.'^ Does  Dr.  M.  imagine  that  this  favor- 
ite maxim  admits  that  there  may  be  another 
rule.''  Then  must  we  quarrel  with  the  maxim 
itself;  for  we  do  mean  to  saj^,  in  the  most  une- 
quivocal form,  and  in  the  best  manner  in  which 
human  language  can  express  the  idea,  that  tljere 
is  no  other  rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  that  no 
man,  nor  any  body  of  men,  nay,  nor  an  angel 
from  heaven^  has  any  right  to  prescribe  another; 
and  that  if  any  of  them  should  dare  to  do  it,  we 
are  bound,  by  the  imperious  and  irrevocable  com- 
mands of  our  Master,  to  reject  whatever  they 
may  bring  to  us.     They  preach  another  gospel. 

Nor  is  there  the  least  necessity  to  be  at  all 
fastidious  about  declaring  this  reformation  prin- 
ciple in  the  broadest  terms.  Our  presbyterian 
standards  assert  it  in  the  most  liberal  language, 
and  that  frequently  too.  In  the  shorter  cate- 
chism it  is  said;  "the  word  of  God,  which  is 
contained  in  the  scriptures  of  tlie  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  is  the  only  nilc  to  direct  iis  hoiv  we 
way  glorify  and  enjoy  /«;?>,"  In  the  larger  Cate- 
chism it  is  said,   "the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the 


94 

Old  and  New  Testaments  are  the  word  of  Godj 
the  only  rule  of  faith  and  obedience.'^''  In  the 
Confession  of  Faith  it  is  said — Hheivfwle  counsel 
of  God,  concerning  all  things  necessary  for  his 
own  glory,  man's  salvation,  faith  and  le,  is 
eitlier  expressly  set  down  in  scripture^  or  by  good 
and  necessary  consequence  may  be  deduced  from 
scripture:  unto  which  nothing  is  to  be  added^  at 
any  time^  whether  by  new  levelations  of  the  Spi- 
rit^ or  traditions  of  men.''''  Should  the  difficul- 
ty of  understanding  the  scriptures  be  objected, 
then  the  confession  of  faith  again  speaks: — ''•AH 
things  in  scripture,  are  not  alike  plain  in  them- 
selves, nor  alike  clear  unto  all;  yet  those  things 
which  are  necessary  to  be  humn.,  believed^  and 
observed.^  are  so  clearly  propounded  and  opened  in 
some  place  of  scripture  or  other^  that  not  only  the 
learned.^  but  unlearned^  in  a  due  use  of  the  ordi- 
nary meaiis,  may  obtain  unto  a  sufficient  under- 
standing  of  them.''''  And  all  this  is  asserted  by 
that  very  Assembly,  \^\\o made  the  book,  and  who 
solemnly  declared  that,  to  demand  subscription 
to  the  answers  to  the  questions  in  the  shorter  Cate- 
chism, is  an  unwarrantable  imposition.  Dr. 
Miller  will  certainly  not  disown  his  own  frequent 
declarations,  nor  dispute  the  positive  decisions 
of  his  own  Confession  of  Faith. 

We  further  agree  with  Dr.  M.  when  he  asserts, 
that  the  fathers  cannot  be  considered  as  the 
christian's  authority  for  any  thing;  that  when 
we  have  proved  our  point  from  the  Apostolical 
church,  we  have  done  enough.  But  then  we 
must  ask,  why  does  he,  in  his  introductory  Ice- 


95 

ture,  refer  to  the  fathers  as  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject now  under  consideration?  And  not  only  so, 
but  why  is  he  so  hititudinarian  as  to  transgress 
his  own  rule,  and  lead  us  through  tlie  third  and 
fourth  centuries,  those  periods  which  he  has 
hiniself  represented,  as  crowded  with  such  "mul- 
tiplied proofs  of  wide  spreading  degeneracy," 
that  tlie  testimony  of  their  writers  must  be  re- 
ceived with  suspicion?  Or  how  does  he  refer 
to  Cyprian's  writings,  after  having  told  us  that 
Augustine  would  not  receive  them  as  canonical^ 
but  resisting  such  an  interference  with  his  con- 
science, made  his  direct  appeal  to  the  divine 
scripture?  Surely,  if  the  testimony  of  the  fath- 
ers, though  harmoniously  uniting  to  assert  the 
episcopal  dignity,  and  lordly  pretensions  of  those 
who  made  rules  for  tlie  human  conscience,  fads 
to  prove  their  authority;  by  parity  of  reasoning, 
that  same  testimony,  though  thus  harmonious 
and  Uiiiversal,  must  tail  to  prove  the  authority  of 
those  rules  which  they  made.  "No  matter  how 
soon"  these  human  Creeds  were  introduced 
"after  the  death  of  tlie  Apoptles,  and  the  close 
of  the  sacred  canon;"  no  matter  "whether  the 
introduction"  of  these  instruments  "were  etfect- 
ed  in  four  years,  or  four  centuries  after  that  pe- 
riod, they  equally  rest  on  laiman  authority  alone, 
and  are  to  be  treated  as  a  mere  contrivance,  and 
commandment  of  men.  The  authority  of  Christ 
can  be  claimed  for  nothing,  which  is  not  found, 
in  some  form,  in' his  word."  We  can  thus  freely 
exchange  terms  with  Dr.  M.  And  no  marvel: 
for  when  we  write  against  authoritative  Creeds, 


96 

and  he  writes  against  the  assumed  authority  of 
Bishops  or  Presbyters,  we  are  in  fact  writing  on 
the  very  same  subject;  advocating  the  very  same 
principles;  pleading  for  the  very  same  rights; 
and  aiming  at  the  very  same  object.  It  is 
impossible  for  him  to  deny  our  conclusions, 
without  denying  his  own;  or  to  sustain  the  ex- 
ercise of  an  assumed  power,  without  sustaining 
the  legality  of  the  power  itself  And  if  our  doc- 
trine will  affect  all  denominations,  so  must  his; 
for  they  are  demonstrated  by  the  same  trains  of 
reasoning.  Dr.  M's  letters,  to  which  we  refer, 
are  as  prejudicial  to  the  cause  of  Presbyterian  ism, 
in  its  present  form,  as  they  are  to  diocesan  Epis- 
eopacy:  and  we  are  surely  very  much  ot)liged  to 
him  for  the  varied  and  valuable  testimomies, 
with  which  his  letters  abound,  on  the  subject  we 
have  undertaken  to  discuss. — The  liberty  where- 
with Christ  has  made  us  free,  may  be  invaded 
in  a  variety  of  ways;  but  when  it  is  gone,  it 
matters  not  who  the  proud  assailant  is,  under 
whose  prowess  it  has  fallen ;  ,the  effect  is  the 
same. 

It  is  very  true  that  Dr.  M.  seems  to  think, 
that  human  Creeds  have  a  divine  ivairant;  and 
in  his  lecture  he  adduces  some  scripture  texts, 
which  appear  to  him  to  look  that  way,  But  if 
he  has  misapplied  his  texts,  as  we  think  we  can 
show  he  has,  and  which  we  shall  undertake  to 
do,  when  we  shall  have  reached  the  second  part 
of  our  remarks,  the  argument  by  which  he 
would  sustain  the  doctrine  of  his  lecture,  is  over- 
thrown. Had  he  inserted  in  that  lecture,  the  ex- 
tracts we  have  made  from  his  letters^  or  similar 


97 

paragraphs,  suited  in  their  phraseology  to  its 
subject,  we  apprehend  that  production  would 
have  left  a  very  different  impression  on  the 
minds  of  his  readers,  than  it  has  left.  He  must 
then  have  changed  the  whole  course  of  his  dis- 
cussion. Occupying  more  commanding  ground, 
he  would  have  appeared  with  the  Bible  in  his 
hand,  and,  demonstrating  his  positions  by  scrip- 
tural argiimeni^  he  would  have  brought  the  con- 
science of  his  reader,  directly  under  the  irrevoca- 
ble decisions  of  divine  authority.  No  opponent 
could  then  have  withstood  him;  and  we  should 
bave  bowed  with  as  much  cheerfulness  as 
any,  and  devoted  ourselves,  unhesitatingly 
and  quickly,  to  repair  any  injury,  it  might  be 
supposed,  we  had  inflicted.  This  he  has  not 
done.  And  again  we  must  insist,  that  these 
formularies  of  human  invention  shall  be  defend- 
ed by  argument,  drawn  from  the  scripture  page  5 
or  WE  be  permitted  to  claim,  and  rejoice  in,  our 
christian  liberty,  which  we  may  not,  cannot,  dare 
not,  will  not,  surrender.  And  ''4iappy  will  it  be 
for  us,  if  we  can  appeal  to  the  great  searcher  of 
hearts,  that  we  have  not  followed  the  traditions 
and  inventions  of  men,  but  the  sure  word 
of  prophecy,  which  is  given  us  to  be  a  light  to 
our  feet,  and  a  lamp  to  our  path,  to  guide  us  in 
the  way  of  peace." 

We  forbear  to  press  our  remarks  on  these 
extracts  any  farther,  though  there  is  abundant 
room;  and  now  proceed  to  consider  the  early 
Creeds  to  which  reference  is  made;  which  we 
shall  make  the  subject  of  our  next  section* 

9 


98 


SECTION  5. 


Dr.  Miller  asserts,  in  his  introductory  lecture, 
that — ''In  the  second  century,  in  the  writings  of 
Irenaeus;  and  in  the  third,  in  the  writings  of 
Tertullian,  (frigen,  Cypnan,  Gregory  Thavma- 
turgiis,  and  Lvcian  the  martyr,  we  find  a  num- 
ber of  Creeds  and  Confessions,  more  formally 
drawn  out,  more  minute,  and  more  extensive,than 
those  of  earlier  date."  Now  all  this  may  be 
true;  w^e  have  no  disposition  to  dispute  the  fact, 
nor  does  our  cause  at  all  require  the  denial  of 
it.  Dr.  M.  will  remember  his  own  principle  of  ' 
argument  in  the  episcopal  controversy,  that  no 
form  of  authoritative  dominion,  introduced  into 
the  church  after  the  death  of  the  apostles, 
though  that  should  have  occurred  within  fifty 
years,  is  any  thing  to  the  purpose,  as  long  as  no 
traces  of  that  thing  could  be  found  in  the  Bible. 
He  will  moreover  remember  the  reply  of  jlugus- 
line,  when  the  writings  of  Cyprian,  and  perhaps 
the  Creed  referred  to  by  Dr.  M.  as  contained  in 
his  writings,  were  pressed  upon  his  conscience; 
how  quickly  that  father  started  back  from  the  ap- 
proach of  human  authority,  and  sheltered  his 
spiritual  convictions  under  the  protection  of  the 
scriptures. 

We  have  no  doubt  but  that  there  was  a  great 
multitude  of  Creeds  in  those  days.  Human 
talents  were  as  various  then  as  they  are  now: 
and  whea  every  man  is  permitted  to  apprehend 


99 

truth  tor  himself,  and  express  his  apprehensions 
accorJiag  to  his  ability,  a  variety  m  thou;^hts 
and  phrases  will  necessarily  take  place.  Every 
raan  when  he  enters  tlie  church  must  have  a 
Creed — for  the  characteristic  of  a  christian  is, 
that  he  is  a  believer.  Let  us  look  at  it.  "  ^Vith- 
out  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please;  for  he  that 
Cometh  to  God,  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that 
he  is  a  revvarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
him."  Aojain,  "if  any  man  love  not  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema,  maranatha." 
And  once  more — "-whosoever  speaketh  against 
the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him, 
neither  in  this  world,  nor  the  world  to  come." 
Now  here  are  articles  of  a  Creed:  and  the  man 
who  does  not  possess  them,  cannot  belong  to  the 
church  of  God.  Not  one  of  the  apostles  would 
Ivw'i  baptize^,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  H  )ly  Ghost,  the  individual 
who  did  notbolleve  in  what  is  represented  here, 
^9.  to  the  Father,  the  Son,  ai^d  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  is  this  a  Creed  isnposed  upon  the  human 
conscience  by  human  authority.''  Or  will  any 
reasoner  oi  our  present  subject  suggest  such  a 
case,  as  fully  replying  to  all  our  argument? 

But  let  us  frame  a  ministerial  Creed: — ''•If  i.ny 
man  preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  tiian  tliat 
ye  have  received,  let  him  be  accursed."  If  un- 
der a  declaration  like  this,  a  man  who  denied 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  should  be  excluded  from 
ministerial  privilep^es,  will  this  be  called  the  op- 
eration of  a  hutnan  Creed,  and  the  exercise  of 
ecclesiastical  authority,  resulting  from  sectarian 


100 

combination?  Assertion  and  argument,  con- 
ducted in  this  manner,  must  grow  out  of  misap- 
prehension, and  lead  to  no  satisfactory  issue. 
The  cases  are  evidently  predicated  upon  divine 
legislation,  as  clear  as  words  can  make  them ;  and 
human  authority  can  neither  confirm  nor  repeal 
the  law  which  is  applied  to  them: — no  church 
court  can  either  enact  or  amend  these  things; 
but  the  human  conscience  receives  them  as  com- 
ing immediately  and  directly  from  God   himself. 

And  there  must  not  only  have  been  Creeds, 
but  living  and  visible  Confessions  too;  for  again 
the  divine  law  saith — ^"If  thou  shalt  confess 
ivith  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe 
in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the 
dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved." — "Whosoever  shall 
confess  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  God  dwell- 
eth  in  him  and  he  in  God" — "Whosoever  there- 
fore shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  con- 
fess also  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
Now  here  is  confession — a  Confession  of  Faith ^ 
and  a  Confession  of  Faith  too,  which  is  a  term  of 
communion  in  spiritual  things.  But  then  the 
reader  clearly  perceives,  that  it  owes  none  of  its 
obligation  on  the  human  conscience  to  human 
authority.  The  Master  himself  has  established 
the  law,  and  no  man  may  object  to  it,  without 
incurring  the  most  awful  penalties.  We  make 
no  objection  to  a  divine  Creed,  or  to  a  divine 
Confession ;  but  we  do  object  to  a  human  Creed, 
and  to  a  human  Confession. 

We  then,  let  us  repeat,  never  have  denied  that 
there  were  a  multitude  of  such  Creeds  and  Con- 


101 

fessions  in  primitive  times,  and  that  there  must 
be  in  all  subsequent  times,  and  in  all  states  of  so- 
ciety, where v^er  christians  are  to  be  found.  But 
then  it  may  be  objected,  that  all  this  is  our  in- 
terpretation, and  that  our  owji  admitted  Creeds, 
are  after  all  but  a  fully  formed  san]ple  of  the 
very  thin^,  which  we  professedly  reject.  In- 
deed ^ — Most  certainly  we  have  offered  no  inter- 
pretation of  the  divine  law;  we  have  simply  re- 
cited the  law  itself,  and,  without  a  single  com- 
ment, as  to  its  individual  meaning,  have  left  it  to 
speak  for  itself;  and  every  man  to  pronounce  for 
himself  what  his  own  eyes  see,  his  own  ears 
hear,  his  own  hands  handle,  his  own  lips  taste. 
And  in  what  has  been  thus  adduced,  we  contend, 
consisted  the  simplicity  of  the  primitive  church, 
which  was  afterwards  so  grievously  corrupted  by 
the  ambition  of  bishops,  and  the  intrigues  of 
ecclesiastical  courts. 

But  after  all,  is  not  this  adventuring  a  great 
deal,  jeoparding  the  purity  of  the  church,  and 
most  incautiously  sacrificing  her  peace.'*  We 
do  not  think  so.  For,  we  believe,  that  thus  the 
primitive  church  did  actually  live  in  purity  and 
peace ;  and  that  her  purity  was  never  corrupted, 
nor  her  peace  destroyed,  until  the  idea  of  eccle- 
siastical power  had  maddened  and  degraded  her 
sons  and  daughters;  and  led  them  to  substitute 
human  for  divine  law.  We  believe,  that  the 
whole  world  is,  at  this  present  moment,  aiming 
at  a  return  to  the  principles  and  habits  of  original 
simplicity,  in  political,  as  well  as  in  ecclesiasti- 

9* 


102 

eal,  matters;  and  that  all  the  political  and  eccle- 
siastical powers  on  earth,  cannot  prevent  the 
changes  which  have  commenced  their  reforming 
and  revolutionising  process.  We  believe,  that 
there  is  a  scriptural  point  where  divine  truth 
conceiytrates  all  her  rays,  in  one  powerful,  burn- 
ing, focus,  and  where  no  man  can  resist  her  au- 
thority and  be  guiltless: — so  much  so,  that  not 
even  the  Gentiles,  according  to  Paul's  reason- 
ings in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  who  had  not 
the  formal  privileges  of  the  Jews,  can  escape  di- 
vine judgments  for  not  obeying  truth,  or  for  hold- 
ing it  in  unrighteousness. 

On  this  latter  idea  we  think  it  necessary  to 
enlarge.  The  elemental  principles  of  divine 
truth  do  not  constitute  such  a  difficult,  obscure, 
mysterious,  matter,  as  they  are  often  represented 
to  do;  and  on  whicii  presumptions  have  been 
founded  so  many  of  our  synodical  documents,  as 
if  a  poor  sinner  could  not  understand  what  God 
has  said  to  him  in  his  Bible,  unless  a  number  of 
learned  ecclesiastical  logicians,  convened  too  by 
special  order  of  civil  rulers  in  many  cases,  should 
interpret  his  law.  The  fact  is,  that  divine  truth 
never  appears  with  so  much  plainness  and  sim- 
plicity as  it  does  in  God's  works,  and  in  God's 
word.  One  of  the  finest  illustrations  of  moral 
principle  which  men  can  find,  and  which  the 
Redeemer  himself  could  find,  is  derived  from  the 
structure  of  God's  works,  or  from  the  course  of 
his  providential  transactions.  And  when  we 
wish  to  have  a  clear  moral  idea,  which  no  man 
can  dispute,  we  are  never  so  happy  as  when  we 


103 

obtain  it  directly  from  the  scriptures,  and  can 
sustain  it  by  comparing  the  scripture  with  itself. 
This  every  man  knows,  who  has  separated  him- 
seh',  like  Gregory  Nazianzen,  from  sectarian  re- 
gulations, and  addressed  himself,  with  all  the 
ardour  of  an  accountable  being,  to  the  study  of 
the  Bible^  for  his  own  spiritual  and  intellectual 
advantage. 

The  v^^hole  arrangement  of  human  things,  un* 
der  the  superintendauce  of  the  great  and  good 
Governor  of  the  world,  appears  to  have  been 
made  purposely  coincident  with  evangelical  law: 
or  evangelical  law  has  been  purposely  made  to 
correspond  with  that  arrangement.  And  if  this 
be  so,  then  the  Bible  must  address  itself  with 
the  clearest  evidence  to  the  human  mind ;  and 
those  who  reject  its  testimony,  which  they  are 
commanded  to  believe,  must  do  it  for  some  other 
reason  than  its  obscurity.  And  accordingly  the 
Master  himself  says — "This  is  the  condemna- 
tion, that  /jg/j^  is  come  into  the  world^  and  men 
loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their 
deeds  are  evil."  And  his  Apostle,  when  giving 
a  description  of  the  moral  character  of  the  Gen- 
tile mind,  says,  "The  Gentiles,  "which  have  not 
law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  m  the 
law; — which  show  the  work  of  the  law  urilten 
in  their  hearts^  their  conscience  also  bearing 
witness,  and  their  thoughts  (disputations  or  rea- 
sonings) the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excus- 
ing one  another."  Now  if  this  vievv  be  true, 
then  must  there  be  such  a  correspondence  be- 
tween the  present  state  of  the  human  mind,  and 


104 

the  revelation  which  God  has  given  by  Jesus 
Christ — both  with  regard  to  its  character  and 
amount, — that  the  Bible  must  necessarily  recom- 
mend itself  to  mankind;  and  it  contains  in  itself, 
in  the  most  visible  form,  those  principles  which 
men  may  see  at  a  glance,  in  which  they  may  im- 
mediately agree,  and  on  which  they  may  worship 
God  with  the  most  perfect  harmony.  It  is  not 
difficult  then  to  perceive  how  the  spiritual  unity 
of  the  church  may  be  inviolably  preserved,  and 
extended  with  the  most  lovely  uniformity  down 
through  all  ages,  under  the  simple  administra- 
tion of  the  Bible.  And  of  course  it  cannot  be 
difficult  to  perceive  how  the  primitive  church 
could  live  in  peace- and  love,  without  the  aid  of 
rules  of  faith  and  practice,  derived  from  the  au- 
thoritative decisions  of  synods  and  councils. 
This  was  in  fact  the  beautiful  simplicity  of  the 
early  ages  of  Christianity,  of  which  historians 
speak  in  strains  of  such  exalted  eulogy;  and 
which  was  afterwards  corrupted  by  the  encroach- 
ments of  ecclesiastical  power,  and  the  presump- 
tuous pretensions  of  ecclesiastical  canons.  So 
that  it  is  altogether  a  mistaken  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, when  it  is  supposed,  that  discord  andstrife 
must  necessarily  ensue,  if  the  church  would  be- 
take herself  to  the  Bible  as  her  onlij  rule.  The 
fact  is  directly  the  reverse.  The  early  history 
of  the  church  demonstrates  the  fact  to  be  the' 
reverse ;  for  never  was  there  an  age,  when  the 
unity  of  the  church  was  dearer  to  the  hearts  of 
living  christians,  or  when  louder  lamentations 
were  uttered  over  the  breach  of  that  unitv. 


105 

We  are  not  alone  in  giving  this  testimony 
concerning  the  character  of  scriptural  revela- 
tion. Irenaeus,  after  having  given  an  account  of 
the  Faith  received  from  the  Apostles  and  their 
disciples,  says, — "This  faith,  the  church,  as  I 
said  before,  has  received,  and  though  dispersed 
over  the  whole  world,  assiduously  preserves,  as 
if  she  inhabited  a  single  house;  and  believes  in 
these  things,  as  having  but  one  heart  and  one 
soul;  and  with  perfect  harmony  proclaims,  teach- 
es, hands  down,  these  things,  as  tllough  she  had 
but  one  mouth.  For  though  there  are  various 
and  dissimilar  languages  in  the  world,  yet  the 
power  of  the  faith  transmitted,  is  one  and  the 
same.  Neither  the  churches  in  Germany^  nor 
in  Iberia^  (Spain)  nor  among  the  Celtte^  (in 
France)  nor  in  the  East,  nor  in  Egypt,  nor  in 
JLijhia^  nor  in  the  middle  regions  of  the  world, 
(Jerusalem  and  the  adjacent  districts)  believe  or 
teach  any  other  doctrines.  But  as  the  sun  is 
one  and  the  same  throughout  the  whole  ivorld;  so 
the  preaching  of  the  truth  shines  every  xvhere^  and 
enlightens  all  men  who  are  willing  to  come  to  tlie 
knowledge  of  truth.  Nor  will  the  most  power- 
ful in  speech  among  the  governors  of  the  church- 
es, say  any  thing  more  than  these ;  (for  no  one  can 
be  above  his  master;)  nor  the  most  feeble  any  thing 
less.  For  as  there  is  but  onefaith^  he  who  is 
able  to  speak  much,  cannot  enlarge;  nor  he  who 
can  say  little,  diminish  it."* 

Dr.  Miller  in  his  letters  on  Unitarianism, 
makes   the  following  remarks.- — "If  the  Bible 

>Maion's  Pica,  p-  p.  41—2. 


106 

contains  a  revelation  froin  God  to  the  mass  of 
mankind^  an  1  is  expressly  intended  to  teach 
them  the  way  of  duty  and  happiness,  we  must 
suppose  it  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  ivhich  it 
ivas  p^iven;  that  is,  we  must  suppose  it  to  be  a 
plain  book.,  suited  to  the  common  people,  as 
well  as  to  the  learned  and  wise.  The  gospel 
was  originally  preached  to  the  poor;  and  is  fitted 
no  less  to  nourish  babes  in  Christy  than  to  sup- 
port and  invigorate  strong  men.  The  Bible,  it 
is  true,  has  c!e|:)ths  which  are  beyond  the  ken  of 
angels;  and  portions  of  its  contents  by  no  means 
unfrequently  occur,  which  require  much  various 
knowledge  to  enable  any  one  to  peruse  them 
with  intelligence  and  satisfaction.  While  there 
is  more  than  enough  in  the  scriptures,  as  there 
is  in  the  great  autbor  of  them,  to  fill  the  most 
enlarged  intellect,  and  to  give  scope  and  exercise 
to  the  most  profound  erudition ;  yet,  it  is  equally 
certain,  that  the  great  body  of  those  truths  which 
relate  to  our  common  salcation.,  which  hold 
forth  to  us  redemption  throu;^h  the  blood  of 
Christ.,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins^  according 
to  the  riches  oj  his  grace.,  and  which  enforce  the 
various  duties  of  the  christian  life,  are  plain.^ 
and  level  to  the  most  common  capacif}j^  disposed 
humbly  to  receive  them.  They  are,  indeed,  so 
plain.,  that  we  are  assured,  he  who  runs  may 
read  them;  and  even  the  wayfairhv^  man., 
though  a  fool.,  shall  not  err  therein.  Such  is  the 
representation  every  where  given  on  tiiis  subject, 
in  the  sacred  volume  itself.  Nothing  more  is 
necessary,  as  we  are  assured,  to  enable  a   sim- 


107 

})]e,  unlettered  man  to  read  the  word  of  God 
with  intelligence  and  profit^  than  common  sense, 
accompanied  with  an  humble  and  teachable  dis- 
positimV'* 

Now  if  such  views  of  the  Bible  be  correct, 
as  we  verily  believe  they  are,  and  as  we  shall 
hctve  an  opportunity  of  showing  more  at  large 
hereafter,  then  it  might  be  a  task  not  unworthy 
of  some  presbyterian  field-marshal,  to  show 
what  is  the  value  of  such  a  book  as  the  volume 
which  contains  the  Standards  of  the  presbyte- 
rian churches.  And,  again,  if  such  views  of 
the  Bible  be  correct,  we  may  not  be  surprised 
to  find  that  the  early  ages  of  Christianity  could 
do  without  authoritative  rules  of  faith  and  man- 
ners, framed  and  enforced  by  some  lordly  pre- 
late, or  ecclesiastical  council ;  and  that  the  church 
in  all  ages  would  "gain  a  loss"  by  their  adop- 
tion. Here  again,  we  have  presented  before  us 
the  very  thing  for  which  we  are  pleading: — the 
supreme,  single,  and  sufiicient  authority  of  the 
Bible.     We  ask  no  more. 

But  we  must  now  turn  to  look  at  the  facts, 
which  characterised  the  primitive  church,  in 
order  that  we  may  ascertain  the  worth  of  these 
early  Creeds,  which  have  been  pressed  upon  our 
attention,  j^nd  ihe  first  fact,  which  we  have  to 
state  is,  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  uniforn)ity 
in  sentiment  and  feeling  during  that  period  of 
the  church ; — a  peculiar  circumstance,  which  nev- 
er has  occurred  since  these  human  Creeds  were 
introduced,  and  where  mind  icas  in  action  on 

"  p.  p.  225—7, 


108 

relig'ious  mhjects.  The  uniformity  of  ignorance 
and  superstition,  no  man  who  loves  his  God, 
himself,  or  the  human  race,  would  make  a  sin- 
gle effort  to  accomplish,  or  utter  a  single  word 
to  praise. 

The  second  fact  is,  that  synods  and  councils, 
whose  province  it  is  to  form  these  authoritative 
rules,  did  not  appear  in  the  christian  church  un- 
til the  middle  of  the  second  century,  were  a 
l^ure  human  conirwance^  when  they  did  appear; 
and  did  nothing  but  mischief,  by  interfering 
with  the  immensely  important,  and  the  greatly 
chequered,  interests  of  Christendom,  which  they 
were  not  qualified  to  manage.  That  ethereal 
spirit,  which  pervades  the  whole  region  of  mor- 
als, the  Holy  Chost  alone  can  direct;  and  they 
who  do  not  bow  to  his  control,  as  mere  secondary 
agents,  whatever  eclat  they  may  acquire  in 
hazardous  enterprise  and  doubtful  strife,  can  do 
nothing  but  stain  the  escutcheon  of  Israel's  glo- 
ry, and  betray  the  cause  they  have  been  commis- 
sioned to  defend. 

The  third  fact  is,  that  "every  church,"  as  Sir 
Peter  King  expresses  it,  was,  "at  liberty  to  ex- 
press the  fundamental  articles  of  the  christian 
faith  in  that  way  and  manner,  which  she  saw 
fit  ])io  re  nata^  or  as  occasion  offered.  Or  as 
another  writer,  we  think  bishop  King,  has  it: — 
"This  Creed  was  handed  down  from  Father  to 
Son,  as  a  brief  summary  of  the  necessary  scrip- 
ture truths,  not  in  ipsissimis  verbis^  or  in  the 
same  set  words,  but  only  the  sense  or  substance 
thereof,  which  is  evident,  from  that  ive  never 


109 

find  the  Creed,  twice  repeated^  in  the  same  words^ 
no^  not  by  one  and  the  same  Father.''''  Now 
even  admitting  that  these  were  authoritative 
rules,  which  the  very  statement  given  ot"  them 
proves  they  were  not,  their  framers  must  have 
been  very  untutored  in  the  science  of  ecclesias- 
tical legislation;  for  surely  they  ought  to  have 
been  careful  to  express  the  Creed,  if  there  was 
an  authoritative  one,  in  uniform  language;  seeing 
there  is  nothing  about  which  theologians  differ, 
more  than  they  do  about  words.  The  council 
of  Nice  was  riven  by  such  a  dispute. 

The  fourth  fact  is,  that  in  the  early  ages, 
bishops  or  presbyters  appear  to  have  been  mo- 
dest men.  When  synods  and  councils  were 
formed,  they  handled  ecclesiastical  matters  with 
a  great  deal  of  diffidence :  and,  on  their  first  ap- 
pearance in  these  meetings,  declared  "that  they 
were  no  more  than  tlie  delegates  of  their  respec- 
tive churches,  and  that  they  acted  in  the  name, 
and  by  the  appointment  of  the  people."  They 
had  not  yet  ventured  to  proclaim  a  lordship  over 
the  human  conscience.  The  present  incumbents 
were  not  prepared  for  that  glorious  distinction. 

Tlie  fi/lh  fact  is.  that  the  approach  to  domin- 
ion was  very  p'adaat  and  impcrreplihle;  and 
that  synods  and  councils  proceeded  onward,  af- 
ter having  once  commenced,  until  they  '•'changed 
the  whole  face  of  the  church;  gave  it  a  new 
form;  and  at  length  openly  asserted,  that  Christ 
had  empowered  them  to  prescribe  to  his  people 
aiUhoritaiive  rules  of  faith  and  maimers.'''' 

10 


110 

We  presume  we  have  now  furnished  facts 
enough  to  prove,  that  these  early  Creeds  were 
very  far  from  being  those  ecclesiastical  instru- 
ments, with  which  we  are  concerned  in  these 
remarks:  That  if  that  age  could  do  with  -ut 
such  instruments,  we  can  do  without  them  too; 
confusion  and  disaster,  doctrinal  carelessness 
and  heretical  wanderings,  are  not  the  conse- 
quences of  living  and  acting,  preaching  and 
praying,  under  the  dominion  of  the  Bible,  when 
sectarian  Creeds  and  Confessions  are  heaved, 
like  the  idols  of  those  who  had  departed  from  the 
only  living  and  true  God,  "to  the  moles  and  the 
bats:"  And  that  the  origin  of  these  aspiring 
and  despotic  ordinances,  must  be  referred  to  the 
council  of  Nice,  assembled  by  the  order  of  a 
civil  ruler,  whose  character  was  as  equivocal  as 
the  wisdom  of  his  ecclesiastical  vassals. 

But  perhaps  the  reader  would  wish  to  see 
some  of  these  early  Creeds,  as  they  are  con- 
sidered to  form  the  connecting  link  between  the 
council  of  Nice  and  the  apostolic  age  We 
shall  furnish  him  with  two  of  them,  that  he  may 
judge  for  himself.  The  first  of  them  is  from  the 
pen  of  Irenaeus^  to  whom  Dr.  Miller  refers  in 
his  lecture,  and  is  as  follows: — "-The  church, 
although  scattered  over  the  whole  world,  even  to 
the  exti'emities  of  the  earth,  has  received  from 
ihe  apostles  and  their  disciples^  the  Faith,  viz. 
on  one  God  the  Father,  Alniighty,  that  made 
the  heaven  and  the  earth,  and  the  seas,  and  all 
things  therein — and  on  one  Christ  Jesus,  the 
son  of  God,  who  became  incarnate  for  our  isalva- 


Ill 

tion — and  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  who,  by  the  pro» 
phets,  preached  the  dispensations,  and  the  ad- 
vents, and  the  generation  from  a  virgin,  and  the 
suffering,  and  the  resurrection  from  the  dead, 
and  the  assumption,  in  flesh,  into  heaven,  of  our 
beloved  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  his  coming 
again  from  the  heavens  in  the  glory  of  the  Fa- 
ther, to  sum  up  all  things,  and  raise  all  flesh  of 
all  mankind;,  that  to  Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord,  and 
God,  and  Saviour,  and  King,  according  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  his  Father,  who  is  invisible, 
every  knee  may  bow,  of  beings  in  heaven,  in 
earth,  and  under  the  earth;  and  every  tongue 
may  confess  to  him;  and  that  he  may  exercise 
righteous  judgment  upon  all;  may  send  spiritual 
wickednesses,  and  transgressing  and  apostate 
angels,  and  ungodly,  and  unjust,  and  lawless,  and 
blasphemous  men,  into  eternal  fire.  Bui  on  the 
righteous  and  holy — on  those  who  have  kept  his 
commandments,  and  continued  in  his  love^ 
whether  from  the  beginning,  or  after  repentance^ 
may,  with  the  gift  of  life,  bestow  incorruption, 
and  put  them  in  possession  of  eternal  glory."* 

Now  the  intelligent  reader  may  very  readily 
suppose,  that  all  this  could  have  been  written  by 
one  of  the  early  fathers,  without  any  intention, 
on  his  part,  of  declaring  any  thing  more  than 
those  essential  principles  of  the  gospel,  which, 
like  the  sun,  "shine  every  where,  and  enlighten 
all  men  who  are  willing  to  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  truth,"  which  accordingly  he  expresses 

^Mason's  Plea,  p.  p.  39,40. 


U2 

in  his  further  remarks  on  the  faith,  received  frwn 
tile  cipostie^i  and  iheir  disciples.  Lenaeiis  de- 
clares the  articles  of  belief  which  belonged  to 
the  FAITH,  that  the  church,  dispersed  throughout 
the  tvorid,  had  professed,  and  that  without  any  of 
those  ecclesiastical  combinations,  which  we 
would  imagine  to  be  indispensable  to  such  an 
uniformity.  And  when  Dr.  Mason,  from  whose 
pages  we  have  made  the  extract,  and  who  had 
been  referring  to  the  '•'-early  Creeds,'^''  or  as  they 
Were  called,  symbols  of  faith^  undertakes  to 
speak  of  the  character  of  this  Creed,  he  re- 
marks;— "It  is  clear  that  this  venerable  father 
did  not  mean  to  give  the  very  words  of  any  for- 
mula of  faith;  but  to  state,  substantially,  those 
high  and  leading  truths  in  which  all  the  churchesof 
Christ  over  the  whole  world  harmonized;  and 
which  formed  the  doctrinal  bond  of  their  union." 
So  we  think.  And  so  we  imagine,  the  reader  too 
must  think.  For  in  those  days  Creeds  were  not  ex- 
pressed, not  even  by  the  very  same  Father,  in  the 
same'  words.  This  Creed  then,  from  the  writ- 
ings of  Irengeus,  was  not  an  authoritative  rule 
in  the  house  of  God.  And  if  it  was,  and  could 
be  transferred  to  our  day,  it  would  effect  a  won- 
derful change  in  our  orthodox,  or  heterodox,  age. 
I'he  second  example  of  an  early  Creed,  which 
we  shall  furnish,  is  from  the  closet  of  Gregory 
Thaumaturii;us^  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Miller,  in  his 
letters  on  Unilarianism,  from  Cave's  Lives  of 
the  Fathers,  and  to  which  Dr.  IMosheim  refers, 
as  "a  brief  summary  of  the  Christian  religion." 
It  is  as  follows: — "There  is  one  God,  the  Father 


113 

of  the  living  word,  of  the  subsisting  wisdom 
and  power,  and  of  him  who  is  his  eternal  image; 
the  perfect  begetter  of  him  that  is  perfect,  tlie 
Father  of  the  only  begotten  Son.  There  is  one 
Lord,  the  Only,  of  the  Only,  God  of  God,  the 
character  and  nnage  of  the  Godhead;  the  pow- 
erful Word,  the  comprehensive  Wisdom,  by 
which  all  things  were  made,  and  the  power  that 
gave  being  to  tlie  whole  creation:  the  true  Son 
of  the  true  Father,  the  Invisi!)!e  of  the  Invisi- 
ble, the  Incorruptible  of  the  incorruptible,  the 
Immortal  of  the  Immortal,  and  the  Eternal  of 
Him  that  is  eternal.  There  is  one  Holy  Ghost, 
having  its  subsistence  of  God,  which  appeared 
tlu'ough  the  Son  to  mankind,  the  perfect  Image 
of  ilie  perfect  Son;  the  life-giving  Life;  the  holy 
Fountam;  the  Sanctity,  and  the  Author  of  sanc- 
tification;  by  whom  God  the  Father  is  made 
manifest;  who  is  over  all,  and  in  all;  and  God 
THE  Son,  wdio  is  through  ail.  A  perfect  Tri- 
NiTF,  which  neither  in  glory,  eternity,  or  wis- 
dom, is  divided  or  separated  from  itself."* 

This  document.  Dr.  M.  has  been  pleased  to 
term,  Tiie  celebrated  Confession  of  Faith  of 
Gregory  Tkauinaturgus^  who  flourished  about 
A.  D.  265.  -Its  celebrity  may  be  great,  and  may 
continue  to  be  great,  for  any  thing  that  we  know, 
for  really  wedo  not  understand  it.  It  is  something 
very  different  from  what  Irenasus  has  written, 
and  looks  very  much  like  those  unintelligible 
matters  which  were  introduced,  for  the  conside- 

*  Let.  on  Un.  p.  p.  144—5. 

10* 


114 

ration  of  spiritually  minded  men,  about  the  time 
that  the  Council  of  Nice  pronounced  its  revered 
decisions.  But  the  circumstance,  which  enti- 
tles this  Confession  of  Faith  to  such  notoriety^ 
deserves  to  be  made  known.  We  shall  take  our 
account  of  the  whole  matter,  from  Dr.  Cave's 
biographic  sketch  of  the  good  bishop  in  the  arti- 
cle referred  to.  It  seems  that  Gregory  was 
called  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  a  particular  po- 
sition, which  like  some  similar  things  in 
our  own  day,  were  difficult  and  troublesome. 
Heresies  had  spread  themselves  over  the  coun- 
tries, where  the  scene  of  his  episcopal  labours 
had  been  laid  out.  He  himself  was  ""altogether 
unexercised  in  theological  studies,  and  the  mys- 
teries of  religion,"  Now  this  was  evidently  a 
serious  situation,  in  which  to  be  placed: — called 
to  the  discharge  of  episcopal  functions  which  he 
was  not  prepared  to  meet.  Our  Creeds  would 
not  suifer  this;  and  most  assuredly  the  Bible  does 
not  sanction  it.  What  was  the  relief?  Dr. 
Cave  informs  us,  after  having  stated  the  diffi- 
culty, that  the  following  relief  was  afforded: — 
"For  remedy  whereof,  he  is  said  to  have  imme- 
diate assistance  from  heaven.  For  while  one 
night  he  was  deeply  considering  of  these  things, 
and  discussing  matters  of  faith  in  his  own  mind, 
he  had  a  vision,  wherein  two  august  and  vene- 
rable persons,  (whom  he  understood  to  be  St. 
John  the  Evangelist,  and  the  Blessed  Virgin) 
appeared  in  the  chamber  where  he  was,  and  dis- 
coursed before  him  concerning  those  points  of 
faith,  which  he  had  been  before  debating  with 


115 

himself.  After  whose  departure,  he  immer! late- 
ly penned  that  canon  and  rule  of  faith  which 
they  had  declared,  and  which  he  ever  after 
made  the  standard  of  his  doctrine,  and  be- 
queathed as  an  inestimable  legacy  and  depositum 
to  his  successors." 

Now,  whether  the  foregoing  story,  which  Dr. 
Cave  gravely  relates,  be  true  or  untrue,  the  re- 
lation of  such  circumstances  concerning  this 
good  father's  Creed,  makes  it  a  very  suspicious 
article;  and  renders  it  about  as  unfavourable  a 
specimen  of  these  early  Creeds,  as  Dr.  M.  could 
have  selected  It  is  true,  it  introduces  the  apos- 
tle John  and  the  virgin  Mary,  in  their  heavenly 
habiliments,  as  august  and  venerable  witnesses 
in  favour  of  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith: 
but  still  it  makes  them  so,  only  by  permitting 
them  to  frame  their  own  Creed  for  us:  and,  as  we 
do  not  lie  within  their  jurisdiction,  we  must 
object  to  the  whole  testimony.  Our  Presbyte- 
rian standards  assert,  that  nothing  is  to  be  added 
to  the  scriptures,  "at  any  time,  or  on  any  pre- 
text, whether  by  new  revelations  of  the  Spijit, 
or  traditions  of  men ;  and  such  an  instrument  no 
Protestant  conscience  can  possibly  receive.  The 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  itself,  could 
not  be  sustained  by  such  testimony,  to  the  satis- 
faction of  any  intelligent  Presbyterian.  We 
are  too  well  apprised  of  the  effect  of  such  things 
in  ages  past;  the  world  and  the  church  have 
grown  too  old  to  be  convinced  by  such  argu- 
ments; and  our  own  good- sense  would  reject  as 
altogether  unworthy  of  our  confidence,  any  ec- 


116 

clesiastical  arrangements  that  may  be  traced  to 
so  equivocal  a.i  origin. — -Dr.  M.  will  excuse  these 
remarks  on  a  subject,  which  can  produce  no 
difference  of  sentiment  between  us.  He  was 
pleased  to  refer  to  this  document;  the  name  of 
Gregory  Thaumatms;iis  is  very  sonorous;  and 
the  whole  sentence  referring  to  the  early  fathers, 
sweeping  before  it  all  our  convictions  and  con- 
clusions, has  a  very  imposing  aspect. 

Such  then  were  these  early  Creeds.  And  cer- 
tainly we  cannot  be  considered  as  at  all  inter- 
fering with  any  man's  liberty  to  write  a  book,  if 
he  pleases  to  do  so.  This  was  the  civil  and 
religious  right  of  the  ancients,  as  it  is  now  of 
the  moderns;  and  is  entrusted  to  human  beings, 
under  an  obligation  which  is  common  to  all  their 
privileges,  and  that  is  not  to  abuse  them.  "As 
good  almost  kill  a  man,  as  kill  a  good  book:  who 
kills  a  man,  kills  a  reasonable  creature,  God's 
image;  but  he  who  destroys  a  good  book,  kills 
reason  itself,  kills  the  image  of  God,  as  it  were, 
in  the  eye.  Many  a  man  lives  a  burden  to  the 
earth;  but  a  good  book  is  the  precious  life  blood 
of  a  master  spirit;  embalmed  and  treasured  up 
on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond  life."  Many  such 
theological  and  literary  eiforts  are  made  now  a 
days,  which  we  shall  not  undertake  to  denounce; 
neither  do  we  choose  to  trouble  ourselves  about 
their  influence.  If  men  will  write  what  t'icy 
ought  not  to  write,  and  read  what  they  ought 
not  to  read,  and  believe  what  they  ought  not  to 
believe;  if  they  do  not  feel  it  to  be  a  matter  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  their  present  and  ever- 


m 

Jasting  destiny,  to  bring  tlieir  minds  under  the 
influence  of  truth  ivfiich  they  understand^  we 
cannot  gratuitously  offer  to  do  for  them  what 
they  ought  to  do  for  thennselves,  but  will  noL  If 
men  will  not  do  what  they  ought,  they  must  suffer. 
We  have  no  idea  of  becoming  ecclesiastical 
Reviewers^  to  save  others  the  trouble  of  thinking 
for  their  own  good.  That  is  a  kind  of  religious 
pauperising  which  is  mconsistent  with  the  ge- 
nius of  Christianity,  and  the  spiritual  prosperity 
of  professing  believers:  and  is  an  attempt  to  en- 
graft religious  institutions  of  our  own  upon 
those  which  God  himself  has  created,  and  in 
which,  he  made  man  a  dependant  upon  exter- 
Da!  influences,  as  far  as  his  own  wisdom  deter- 
mined to  be  right.  Every  thing  which  makes 
Man  less  than  what  he  ought  to  be,  is  certainly 
suspicious  in  its  character,  and  deleterious  in  its 
results.  God  himself  has  carried  this  delicate 
subject  of  legislation  as  far  as  it  can  be  safely 
carried;  and  every  step,  which  is  taken  to  reduce 
the  personal  independence  of  men  below  the 
level  on  which  he  has  placed  it,  must  necessarily 
do  very  great  mischief. 

Many  such  Creeds,  or  many  pieces  of  such 
Creeds,  are  published  every  day  in  our  own  coun- 
try; but  none  of  their  authors  imagine  that  they 
are  empowered  to  make  laws  for  the  human  con- 
science, or  to  erect  their  speculations  into  terms 
of  christian  communion.  And  it  was  so  with  these 
early  Creeds.  The  good  bishops,  whose  names 
have  been  introduced  into  this  controversy,  were 
not  framing  sectarian  rules,  by  which  God's  re- 


118 

deemed  children  should  be  deprived  of  "the 
children's  bread."  They  were  not  sketching  out 
"voluntary  associations,"  and  giving  schismatic, 
arbitrary,  political  forms  to  different  sections  of 
the  church;  or,  with  conscious  power,  forcing 
upon  men  their  own  frigid,  heartless,  formula- 
ries. The  poiver  to  make  laws  must  be  consti- 
tuted, before  the  laws  can  be  made;  and  we 
must  look  for  these  authoritative  rules  of  faith 
and  manners,  when  tii<3  time  came  round,  and 
the  men  appeared,  who  claimed  the  authority 
by  which  they  could  be  enacted,  "Before  there 
were,"  says  Jerome,  '•'by  the  instigation  of  the 
devil,,  parties  in  religion,  and  it  was  said  among 
different  people,  /  am  of  Paul^  and  I  of  Jlp- 
ollos^  and  1  of  Cephas^  the  churches  were  gov- 
erned by  the  joint  counsel  of  the  Preshyters.  But 
afterwards^  when  every  one  accounted  those  whom 
he  baptized  as  belonging  to  himself  and  not  to 
Christy  it  was  decreed  throughout  the  ivhole 
worlds  that  one,  chosen  from  among  the  Presby- 
ters, should  be  put  over  the  rest^  and  that  the 
whole  care  of  the  church  should  be  committed 
to  him,  and  the  seeds  of  schisms  taken  away."* 
It  follows  then  most  conclusively,  from  what  we 
have  culled  out  of  the  history  of  the  early  ages 
of  the  church,  that  there  were  no  such  instru- 
ments as  our  Creeds  and  Confessions;  and  that, 
as  we  have  already  stated,  the  council  of  Nice 
framed  the  first  formulary  of  this  kind  Eccle- 
siastical history  then  is  not  against  us,  but  for  us; 

"Mason's  Plea,  p.  79- 


119 

and  if  there  be  any  value  in  such  kind  of  testi- 
monv  in  relaiion  to  a  Bible  quo-tion,  then  that 
testimony  i«  nil  in  favour  oi  the  doctrine   advo 
eated  in  these  pages. 


SECTION  6. 


There  is  another  class  of  historical  facts,  be- 
Iong;ing  to  the  early  a<i;es  of  Christianity,  which 
our  subject  requires  us   to  state,  and   to   wliich 
we  .now  invite  the   reader's   attention.     It  was 
not  the  want  of  an  authoritative  Creed,  which 
opened   the  door  for   heretics  to   enter;  neither 
have  such   Creeds  ever  kept  heresy  out  of  the 
church.    In  defiance  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  Arians 
would  be  Arians  still;  and  with  that  very  Creed 
in  his  hand,   Arius   himself,    unconvinced,  un- 
changed, and  in  every  thing,  it  would  seem,  too 
subtle  for  the  orthodox,  having  regained  his  pri- 
vileges, carried  on    his    own    intrigues.     It    is 
ahogether  a  mistake  to  suppose,  that  these  eccle- 
siastical documents,  are    unsuspected,  and  un- 
treacherous  guardians  of  the  truth.     They  never 
protected  truth,  nor  promoted  unity;  they  never 
gave  health  to  the  church's  soul,  nor  grace  and 
bciauty  to  the  church's  form;  they  never  hushed 
contention,  nor   reconciled  conflicting  opinions, 
since  they  were  first  introduced.     They  do  none 


120  % 

of  these  thingrs  now;  but,  as  of  old,  they  do  at 
this  day  tarnish  the  beauty,  distract  the  peace, 
and  cripple  the  efforts,  of  the  church  of  God. 
They  did  then,  and  thay  do  now,  set  brothers 
at  variance,  and  teach  them  to  divide  their  in- 
heritance on  unfair  principles,  and  in  the  midst 
of  strife  and  discord.  And  these  things  they 
will  always  do,  while  they  are  permitted  to  re- 
gulate ecclesiastical  matters,  and  divide  the 
church  into  voluntary  associations. 

Philosophical,  or  scholastic  theology,  as  it  is 
called,  furnishes  a  very  larg;e  proportion  of  those 
mfderials,  from  which  the  ecclesiastical  historian 
must  make  up  his  details.  The  reader,  who  has 
turned  his  attention  to  this  subject,  and  examin- 
ed the  early  records  of  ministerial  enterprise, 
must  have  discovered  how  soon  theologians 
were  decoyed  from  the  simplicity  of  religious 
truth,  and  the  evenness  of  religious  manners, 
and  were  led  astray  into  devious  paths  by  philo- 
sophy, as  their  ipiis  fatuus.  He  has  been  per- 
using the  confused  and  forbidding  annals  of 
heresy.  He  has  been  holding  communion  with 
men  whose  speculations  corrupted  the  doctrines, 
and  whose  ambition  stabbed  the  peace,  of  the 
church.  And  if  he  has  applied  the  inf  )rmation 
he  has  acquired,  amid  the  most  painful  emotions, 
to  this  subject  under  discussion,  he  will  readily 
pardon  the  scruples  we  have  expressed.  Such 
a  course  of  inquiry  has  put  him  in  possession  of 
a  g;reat  variety  of  facts,  which,  when  compared 
with  the  present  state  of  theological  science, 
must  have  conducted  him  into  a  train  of  observa- 


121 

tions,  similar  to  those  we  are  now  making.  We 
cannot  conceive  how  he  should  escape  the  im- 
pression, which  we  suppose  such  studies  must 
necessarily  make.  If  any  one  of  our  readers  is 
surprised  by  this  intelligence,  he  is  bound  to 
postpone  at  least  his  censure,  until  he  has  for 
himself  investigated  that  branch  of  ecclesiastical 
history  to  which  we  refer. 

During  the  first  century,  Dr.  Mosheim  informs 
us,  that  '•'the  method  of  teaching  the  sacred  doc- 
trines of  religion,  was  most  simple^  far  removed 
from  all  the  subtile  rules  of  philosophy,  and  all 
the  precepts  of  human  art:" — That  "all  who  pro- 
fessed firmly  to  believe  that  Jesus  was  the  only 
Redeemer  of  the  world,  and  who,  in  consequence 
of  this  profession,  promised  to  live  in  a  manner 
conformable  to  the  purity  of  his  holy  religion, 
were  immediately  received  among  the  disciples 
of  Christ,  This  was  all  the  preparation  for 
baptism  then  required;  and  a  more  accurate  in- 
struction in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  was  to 
be  administered  to  them,  after  tlieir  receiving 
that  sacrament." — "The  christians  took  all  pos- 
sible care  to  accustom  their  children  to  the  study 
of  the  scriptures,  and  to  instruct  them  in  the 
doctrines  of  their  holy  religion;  and  schools  were 
every  where  erected  for  this  purpose,  even 
from  the  very  commencement  of  the  christian 
church."* 

In  his  account  of  the  second  century,  our  his- 
torian remarks, — "The  christian  system,  as  it 

*Vol.  1,  p.p.  113—116. 

11 


122 

was  hitherto  taught,  preserved  its  native  and 
beautiful  simplicity,  and  was  comprehended  in  a 
small  number  of  articles.  The  public  teachers 
inculcated  no  other  doctrines,  than  those  that  are 
contained  in,  what  is  commonly  called,  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed;  and,  in  the  method  of  illustrating 
them,  all  vain  subtilties,  all  mysterious  research- 
es, every  thing  that  was  beyond  the  reach  of 
common  capacities,  were  carefully  avoided.  This 
will  by  no  means  appear  surprising  to  those  who 
consider,  that,  at  this  time,  there  was  not  the 
least  controversy  about  those  capital  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  which  were  afterwards  so  keenly 
debated  in  the  church;  and  who  reflect,  that  the 
bishops  of  these  primitive  times  were,  for  the 
most  part,  plain  and  illiterate  men,  remarkable 
rather  for  their  piety  and  zeal,  than  for  their 
learning  and  eloquence. 

"This  venerable  simplicity  was  not,  indeed,  of 
a  long  duration ;  its  beauty  was  gradually  effaced 
by  the  laborious  efforts  of  human  learning,  and 
the  dark  subtilties  of  imaginary  science.  Acute 
researches  were  employed  upon  several  religious 
subjects,  concerning  uhich  ingenious  decisions 
were  pronounced;  and,  what  was  worst  of  all, 
several  tenets  of  a  chimerical  philosophy  were 
imprudently  incorporated  into  the  christian  sys- 
tem. This  disadvantageous  change,  this  unhappy 
alteration  of  the  primitive  simplicity  of  the 
christian  religion,  was  chiefly  owing  to  two  rea- 
sons; the  one  drawn  from  pride,  and  the  other 
ft-om  a  sort  of  necessity.  The  former  was  the 
e?igerness  of  certain  leai-ned  men  lo  bring  about 


12S 

a  union  between  the  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
and  the  opinions  of  the  philosophers;  for  they 
thought  it  a  very  fine  accomplishment,  to  be  able 
to  express  the  precepts  of  Chiiist  in  the  lan- 
guage of  philosop}iers^  civilians  and  rabbins. 
The  other  reason  that  contributed  to  alter  the 
simphcity  of  the  christian  religion,  was,  the  ne- 
cessity of  having  recourse  to  logical  definitions 
and  nice  distinctions,  in  order  to  confound  the 
sophistical  arguments  which  the  infidel  and  the 
heretic  employed,  the  one  to  overturn  the  chris- 
tian system,  and  the  other  to  corrupt  it."* 

In  the  third  century  appeared  Origen,  who, 
according  to  our  historian,  was  the  most  eminent 
man  of  his  day,  "whether  we  consider  the  extent 
of  his  fame,  or  the  multiplicity  of  his  labours; — 
a  presbyter  and  catecliist  of  Mexandria^  a  man 
of  vast  and  uncommon  abilities,  and  the  greatest 
luminary  of  the  christian  world  that  this  age 
exhibited  to  view.  Had  the  justness  of  his  judg- 
ment been  equal  to  the  immensity  of  his  genius, 
the  fervor  of  his  piety,  his  indefatigable  patience, 
his  extensive  erudition,  and  his  other  eminent 
and  superior  talents,  all  encomiums  must  have 
fallen  short  of  his  m<^rit.  Yet  such  as  he  was, 
his  virtues  and  his  labours  deserve  the  admira- 
tion of  all  ages;  and  his  name  will  be  transmitted 
with  honour  through  the  annals  of  time,  as  long 
as  learning  and  genius  shall  be  esteemed  among 
men  ."■{• 

Alter  such  a  high  wrought  eulogium  on  the  char- 
acter of  Origen^  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Mosheim^ 

*p.  p.  180— 1.  tlb.  p.  263 


124 

it  perhaps  becomes  us  to  speak  with  the  most 
profound  reverence  of  this  great  man.  But  our 
cause  is  too  important  to  be  exchanged  for  a 
comphment  to  human  talent.  The  Apostle 
Paul,  who  was  a  much  greater  man,  would  ac- 
cept of  no  such  idolatrous  homage.  Refusing 
to  be  dazzled  by  the  splendour  of  such  a  pane- 
gyrick,  we  feel  almost  disposed  to  say  what  Dr. 
Miller  almost  says  in  his  lecture — '4t  had  been 
good  for  the  church  if  he  had  never  been  born." 
But  let  the  historian  himself,  who  has  written 
so  fine  an  epitaph  on  the  tomb  of  this  departed 
genius,  pass  his  own  sentence  upon  the  object 
of  his  admiration.     Thus  he  writes: 

"The  principal  doctrines  of  Christianity  were 
now  explained  to  the  people  in  their  native  pu- 
rity and  simplicity,  without  any  mixture  of  ab- 
stract reasonings  or  subtile  inventions;  nor  were 
the  feeble  minds  of  the  multitude  loaded  with  a 
great  variety  of  precepts.  But  the  christian 
doctors,  who  had  ajyplied  themselves  to  the 
study  of  letters  and  philosophy,  soon  abandoned 
the  frequented  paths,  and  struck  out  into  the 
devious  wilds  of  fancy.  The  Egyptians  distin- 
guished themselves  in  this  new  method  of  ex- 
plaining tlw  truth.  They  looked  upon  it  as  a  no- 
ble and  a  glorious  task  to  bring  the  doctrines  of 
celestial  imdom  into  a  certain  subjection  to  the 
precepts  of  their  philosophy^  and  to  make  deep 
and  profound  researches  into  the  intimate  and 
hidden  nature  of  those  truths,  which  the  divine 
Saviour  had  delivered  to  his  disciples.     Origen 

WAS  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THIS   SPECULATIVE  TRIBE; 


125 

This  great  man,  enchanted  by  the  charms  of  the 
platonic  philosophy,  set  it  up  as  the  lest  of  all 
religion;  and  imagined  that  the  reasons  of  each 
doctrine  were  to  be  found  in  that  favourite  phi- 
losophy, and  their  nature  and  extent  to  be  de- 
termined by  it.  It  must  be  confessed,  that  he 
handled  this  matter  with  modesty  and  caution; 
but  he  still  gav^e  an  example  to  his  disciples,  the 
abuse  of  which  could  not  fail  to  be  pernicious, 
and  under  the  authority  of  which  they  w^ould 
naturally  indulge  themselves  without  restraint 
in  every  wanton  fancy.  And  so,  indeed,  the 
case  was:  for  the  disciples  of  Origen,  breaking 
forth  from  the  limits  fixed  by  their  master,  in- 
terpreted, in  the  most  licentious  manner,  the 
divine  truths  of  religion  accoiding  to  the  tenor 
of  the  platonic  philosophy.  From  these  teach- 
ers, the  philosophical,  or  scholastic  theology,  as 
it  is  called, derives  its  origin;  and  proceeding 
hence,  passed  through  various  forms  and  mociiu- 
cations,  according  to  the  genius,  turn,  and  eru- 
dition, of  those  who  embraced  it."* 

Afterwards,  when  the  church  was  passing 
through  the  changes  and  conflicts  of  the  fourth 
century,  the  same  historian  tells  us,  that  "among 
all  the  religious  controversies  that  divided  the 
church,  the  most  celebrated,  both  for  their  im- 
portance and  their  duration,  were  those  relating 
to  Origen  and  his  doctrine."f  Indeed,  while 
he  "was  held,  by  the  most  part  of  christians,  in 
the  highest  veneration,  and  his  name  was  so 

*  lb.  p.  p.  265—6.  t  p.  378. 

11* 


1^6 

sacred  as  to  give  weight  to  the  cause  in  which 
it  appeared,  the  Arians,  who  were  sagacious  in 
searching  for  succours  on  all  sides  to  maintain 
their  sect,  affirmed  that  he  adopted  their  opin- 
ions." Such  then  was  the  value  of  this  great 
man,  and  his  theological  abilities;  and  such  the 
course  he  run  as  a  philosophic  moralist,  in  an 
attempt  to  curb  the  truth  divine  by  human  laws. 
His  scholastic  modes  of  reasoning;  his  labour 
to  introduce  a  system  of  theology  which  would 
correspond  with  his  principles  of  philosophy; 
the  varied  efforts  which  his  zealous  disciples 
made  to  extend  the  influence  of  his  doctrines; 
and  the  deep  interest  which  was  taken  in  his 
speculations;  gave  that  form  to  religious  truth, 
and  that  turn  to  the  religious  mi  rid,  which  to 
this  hour  sanctions,  and  creates,  the  necessity 
for  human  Creeds,  and  occasions  the  diversity 
of  doctrine  and  feeling  which  still  exists.  This 
comparing  the  Bible  with  philosophy  instead  of 
With  itself,  called  for  another  test  of  christian 
character  than  the  Bible ;  a  tesl,  which  would 
mould  and  fashion  religion  into  a  philosophical 
form;  and  a  test^  which  would  try  the  philoso- 
phy, not  the  christianiiy,  of  professing  believers. 
Origen  ''set  up  the  platonic  philosophy  as  the 
test  of  all  religion;"  and  this  is  the  true  ex- 
planation of  a  test  of  ORTHODOXY.  Let  our 
sectarian  chieftians  pause  and  reflect,  whether  it 
is  ihe'iY  duty,  or  worth  their  while,  to  endeavour 
to  make  plain  and  humble  christians,  philoso- 
phers. 

A  similar  combination  of  circumstances  oc- 


127 

curred,  or  rather  a  combination  of  circumstan- 
ces, in  which,  by  the  magic  power  of  Ori;^en's 
genius,  the  spirit  of  philosophising  transmigrated 
into  other  rehgious  systems,  when  Arianism 
appeared  in  living,  but  subtle  form.  And  this 
gave  birth  to  our  ecclesiastical  Creeds.  For 
the  famous  council  of  Nice  was  convened,  under 
the  auspices  of  a  civil  ruler,  who  was  more  crafty 
than  religious,  to  quell  the  controversy  which 
had  arisen  between  two  speculating  theoloi:;ianSy 
who  divided  and  distracted  the  whole  church 
with  matters  which  were  '•'too  high"  for  thein. 
The  case  is  as  follows: — Alexander,  bisiiop  of 
Alexandria,  "leading  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life, 
brougbt  the  church  into  an  unity,  and  on  a 
certain  time,  in  presence  of  the  priests  which 
were  under  him,  and  the  rest  of  the  clergy,  he 
entreateih  somewhat  more  curiously  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  and  the  unity  to  be  in  the  Trinity. 
Arius  then  being  one  of  the  priests  placed  in 
order  under  him,  a  man  very  skilful  in  the 
subtleties  of  sophistical  logic,  suspectitig  the 
bishop  to  have  brought  into  the  church  t!ie  er- 
roneous doctrine  of  Sabellius  the  .ijrick\  and 
being  kindled  with  the  desire  of  contention,  set 
himself  opposite  against  the  opinion  of  Sabel- 
lius the  Africk,  and,  as  it  seemed,  directly  against 
the  allegations  of  the  bishop. — When  he  had, 
with  his  strange  kind  of  doctrine,  concluded  and 
laid  down  this  position,  he  provoked  many  to 
reason  hereof,  so  that  of  a  small  sparkle  a 
great  fire  was  kindled."*     Here  was  specuiation 

*  Soc.  Ec,  His.  Lib.  1  ch.  3. 


128 

arrayed  against  speculation;  the  simplicity  of 
scriptural  instructions  was  exchanged  for  ab- 
stract reasonings  and  subtile  inventions;  great 
and  learned  men  were  arguing  about  things  that 
neither  of  them  understood;  and  the  whole 
church  was  involved  in  grievous  and  unprofitable 
controversy. 

Constantine  the  emperor,  according  to  Eu- 
sebius,  is  grievously  afflicted,  "as  much  as  if  he 
himself  had  fallen  into  some  great  calamity," 
when  "a  report  was  brought  to  him  of  a  great 
faction  which  was  growing  up  in  the  church." 
He  accordingly  '•'bethought  himself  how  he  might' 
prevent  it,"  and  "straight  he  chooses  one  of 
those  religious  men  which  he  had  about  him, 
who  had  been  a  faithful  and  zealous  confessor  of 
the  truth  in  the  times  of  persecution:  him  he 
sends  to  draw  the  Alexandrians  to  peace  and 
concord,  and  by  him  sends  letters  written  to  that 
effect  to  the  authors  of  the  sedition."  It  is 
further  stated,  that  "this  faithful  messenger,  did 
not  only  deliver  his  letters,  but  also  dealt  very 
earnestly  with  them  in  the  emperor's  behalf, 
that  he  might  effect  his  desire.  And  though  he 
was  a  very  godly  man,  yet  his  letters  nor  his  en- 
deavours could  not  bring  matters  to  any  good 
success,  in  regard  that  this  faction  grew  strong- 
er, and  had  over  ;pread  all  the  eastern  provin- 
ces. And  thus  through  the  malice  of  the  devil, 
who  envieth  the  happiness  of  the  church,  discord 
and  dissention  continued." 

This  good  emperor  was  very  much  troubled 
by   his   unsuccessful  efforts.     "Whereupon  he 


120 

levied,  as  it  were,  an  army  of  God's  servants,  and. 
called  a  general  council,  and  writ  letters  to  the 
bishops,  to  summon  them  to  repair  to  this  con- 
vention or  spiritual  parliament.  Neither  did  he 
only  give  command  for  the  assembling  of  a  gen- 
eral council,  but  sought  to  further  it  by  his  im- 
perial authority,  permitting  some  to  take  up  his 
horses  in  his  name  for  the  performance  of  this 
journey,  and  provided  for  their  convenient  trav- 
el by  wagons  and  other  means."* — What  a 
good  emperor!  We  wish  he  had  been  better. 

It  seems  however  that  after  ail  the  pains  which 
the  emperor  took,  he  failed  in  his  purpose. 
And  we  should  mourn  over  the  awful  degeneracy 
of  that  state  of  society,  in  which  the  human 
conscience  can  become  the  vassal  of  civil  pow- 
er. Neither  could  the  synod,  with  all  its  mighty 
apparatus  and  imposing  grandeur,  control  the 
error  they  sought  to  cure.  The  heterodox  be- 
came more  inflexible,  because  the  orthodox  had 
become  more  arrogant;  and  spiritual  governors 
must  not  tantalize  immortal  spirits,  for  tliey  are 
of  high  bir^h  and  glorious  destiny.  And  no 
wonder  that  the  council  should  be  frustrated  in 
their  designs.  For  synods  have  not,  nor  can 
they  ever  acquire,  the  authority  which  they  pre- 
tend and  desire  to  wield,  when  men  think  foi' 
themselves^  which  all  men  ought  to  do,  if  they 
wish  to  be  companions  for  the  seraphic  intelli- 
gences of  glory.  Synods  cannot  blend  disjoint- 
ed thouglits,  as  if  they  were  tying  up  a  ruptured 
artery;  nor  heal  division,  as  if  they  were  winding^: 

*  Rusebius'Hfe  of  Constantiiie» 


ISO 

a  bandage  roiuid  a  broken  limb.  The  eye  must 
see  when  there  is  light,  and  the  ear  hear  when 
there  is  sound;  and  the  mind  that  is  stupified, 
the  principle  of  intellect  that  does  not  "overleap 
a  wall,"  which  a  human  architect  has  built,  is 
like  the  eye  obscured  by  an  unnatural  film,  or 
the  ear  deafened  amid  dissolving  elements. — 
Mind  is  gone  when  men  may  restrain  it;  or  there 
is  a  last  effort  in  reserve,  like  Samson's  expen- 
diture of  recovered  strength  in  the  Philistine 
temple — but  it  is  amid  the  flames  of  Tophet. 

When  error  is  once  introduced;  when  rever- 
ence for  the  authority  of  the  scriptures  has  de- 
clined ;  and  when  christian  men  have  learned  to 
employ  bitterness,  sarcasm,  ridicule,  and  inge- 
nuity, as  their  controversial  weapons,  who  can 
foretell  the  issue  ?  Excitement  has  arranged  hos- 
tile parties ;  the  unity  of  the  church  is  broken ; 
her  beauty,  so  lovely  in  the  eyes  of  tender 
christians,  is  blighted;  and  the  most  vindictive 
feelings  crowd  all  spiritual  graces  out  of  the 
human  bosom.  Such  was  the  case,  when  Alex- 
ander, on  the  one  side,  and  Arius,  on  the  other, 
took  the  field,  and  forced  the  whole  christian 
church  into  interminable  altercations.  To  re- 
store harmony,  and  induce  both  bishops  and 
their  people  to  think  alike  on  the  subjects  that 
divided  them,  the  oecumenical  council,  assem- 
bled at  Nice,  thought  of  framing  an  authorita- 
tive rule  ofjaith^  ycleped  a  Creed.  They 
supposed,  that  having  civil  power  to  back  their 
decisions,  every  thing  would  be  accomplished, 
and  that  they  could  compel  the  Arians  to  believe 


IBl 

their  Creed.  All  nature  frowns  at  the  cruelty 
of  persecution;  and  who  ever  imagined  that 
persecution  could  drive  the  human  mind  frona 
its  range  of  thought,  when  holding  communion 
with  its  great  Creator?  The  Creed  did  not 
unite  the  contending  parties:  they  still  man- 
oeuvred and  disputed ;  stratagen  was  employed 
against  stratagem;  and  reviling  was  returned  for 
reviling.  And  who  is  so  uninstructed  on  the 
subject  of  moral  unity,  especially  after  such 
streams  of  blood  have  flowed,  and  men  have 
concentrated  all  their  powers,  to  produce  it,  as 
not  to  know,  that  Love,  Love,  is  the  celestial 
band  which  makes  spiritual  intelligences  har- 
monize; commissions  angels  to  mingle  among 
earthly  scenes ;  and  forms  the  essence  of  Deity — ■ 
proclaimed  in  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  expended 
in  the  sorrows  of  Immanuel,  and  hourly  dis- 
pensed to  man  as  a  pensioner  on  "the  fulness  of 
Godhead?'''  0,  what  a  puny  thing  is  a  human 
Creed! 

It  is  a  correlative  fact,  of  great  importance, 
that,  in  this  present  age,  the  churcli  is  recogniz- 
ing her  spiritual  im?7iy,  and  that  her  members  are 
cherishing  love  to  one  another.  Christians  are 
discovering  their  common  similitude;  and  the 
associations  which  they  are  now  forming,  and 
which  so  often  bring  them  together  to  mingle 
heart  with  heart  in  the  great  cause,  are  of  the 
most  fascinating  kind.  They  are  throwing  off 
"the  painted  earth-made  vizors,  which  conceal 
the  human  face  divine,"  and  their  extended  com- 
munion charms  every  eye  by  its  enchanting  love- 


IS2 

liness.  The  result  of  it  must  necessarily  be  to 
put  down  all  these  authoritative  rules.  The 
result  of  it  has  been  to  bring  them  into  disrepute, 
and  enfeeole  their  control.  The  longer  they 
exist,  and  the  more  efficiently  they  act,  the  more 
visible  will  that  result  become.  Like  a  moun- 
tain of  polar  ice,  loosened  from  its  northern  fix- 
ture, and  hastening  to  dissolve  under  milder  suns, 
these  ecclesiastical  exotics  will  droop  and  with- 
er, and  die,  where  charity  kindles  her  burning 
coals.  It  is  the  province  of  love  to  unite  men 
together,  and  heal  the  divisions  which  separate 
them;-— it  is  that  moral  bond  of  union  which 
God  himself  has  created,  and  by  which  he  in- 
tends to  bind  together  all  things  in  his  spiritual 
kingdom.  At  last. we  shall  see  the  members  of 
Christ's  body  '''[fitly  joined  together,  and  com- 
pacted by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  effectual  uorking  in  the  measure 
of  every  part."  Unity  indeed  will  be  produced; 
not  that  unity  which  sectarians  so  clumsily 
define,  and  which  their  unceasing  contentions 
have  made  so  entirely  chimerical;  but  the  unity 
of  the  spirit,  '•'which  is  to  be  kept  in  the  bond  of 
peace."  Such  a  sect  we  do  most  heartily  wish 
to  see  formed.  Not  a  sect  which  covets  the 
honour  of  giving  birth  to  generations  of  contro- 
versial heroes,  and  promises  a  crown  of  immor- 
tality to  the  victorious  polemic,  who  has  been 
striving  with  his  brethren.  But  a  sect,  "built 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Pro- 
phets, Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner 
stone;  in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  to- 


133 

gether^  groweth   unto    an   holy   temple    in  the 
Lord." 

We  humbly  conceive  that  we  have  now  traced 
these  human  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith 
to  llieir  true  origin.  They  are  wholly  destitute 
of  a  ilivine  warrant.  They  are  the  offspring  of 
ecclesiastical  power,  created  by  human  ambition, 
and  sustained  by  civil  law;  they  sprang  from 
scholastic  theology,  introducing  subjects  of  con- 
tention among  christians,  and  courting  decisions 
from  human  authority.  They  are  i\i^  institutions 
of  a  degraded  state  of  religious  society,  and  the 
representatives  of  deteriorated  moral  principles, 
argument,  and  feeling.  When  the  church  n^ade 
them,  she  ''left  her  first  love;"  she  forsook  ^'the 
fountain  of  living  w^aters,  and  hevv^ed  out  cis- 
terns, broken  cisterns,  that  can  hold  no  water." 
Such  is  the  biography  of  these  expiring  rituals, 
down  from  the  unmanly  contests  of  the  council 
ot  Nice,  through  all  the  variegated  scenes  of 
the  reformation,  the  perilou'^  distractions  of  Pu- 
ritanic times,  and  the  unsatisfied  scruples  of  many 
dissenting  parties,  to  this  age  of  great,  general, 
universal,  needful,  prophesied  changes.  They 
are  like  the  synods — members  in  fact  of  the 
same  troublesome  family — of  w'lich  the  great 
and  good  Gregory  Nazianzen  declared,  "thai  he 
had  never  seen  a  good  effect,  or  happy  conclu- 
son,  of  ariv  one  of  them;"  but  that  they"rnther 
increased  than  lessened  the  evils  they  were  de- 
signed to  prevent." 

In  coM^^lu'ling  this  first  part  of  our  remarks, 
wc  think  it  Wi)rth  while  to  observe,  how  far  the' 

\2 


184 

pmiciple  of  this  error.,  which  we  are  criticising 
as  so  indefensible  in  its  character,  and  injurious 
in  its  tendency,  always  has  belonged  to  '■^a  de- 
clining slate  of  religious  society?''  Different 
ages  of  the  world  have  possessed  different  de- 
grees of  divine  revelation.  Of  course,  then, 
their  circumstances  were  very  different.  But 
however  different,  this  ininciple  of  error  pos- 
sesses versatility  enough  to  accommodate  itself 
to  them  all. —  What  is  Idolatry!  Had  its  devo- 
tees no  knowledge  of  God,  that  they  should 
build  altars  for  all  the  host  of  heaven,  and  wor- 
ship stocks  and  stones?  Was  the  revelation, 
which  Jehovah  made  of  himself  on  earth,  hidden 
from  them  by  an  arbitrary  decree?  Flad  he  no 
witnesses  speaking  to  them  in  his  name,  in  his 
works,  in  his  providential  administration,  in 
their  own  bosoms?  The  promise  given  to  Adam 
—  the  covenant  made  v/ith  Noah — the  sacrificial 
rite — the  opportunity  of  deprecatory  prayer — 
were  they  ignorant  of  these  things,  which  belong 
to  God's  dispensation  of  grace?  Or  did  they 
not  lose  their  moral  privileges  in  consequence 
of  perverting  the  simplicity  of  divine  worship 
by  inventions  of  their  own?  Were  they  not 
given  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  because  they  did 
not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge;  be- 
cause their  foolish  heart  was  darkened  by  their 
own  vain  imaginations!  and  because,  that  when 
they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God, but 
chancred  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into 
an  in  age  made  like  In  coniijitible  man?  Were 
not  doctrines — the  offspring  of  human  wisdom, 


135 

and  rites — the  creatures  of  human  power,  the 
le2;alized  substitutes  for  the  comniandiuents  of 
God? — These  two  things  cannot  exist  together. 
God  must  be  the  supreme  Governor  among  men. 
Man,  as  an  accountable  agent,  caimot  serve  livo 
masters.  One  must  be  loved,  and  the  other 
must  be  hated;  and  just  according  as  man  him- 
self may  choose,  will  the  decision  be  made. 
Such  was  the  operation  of  this  principle  of 
moral  existence,  in  the  Gentile  world.  They 
did  not  choose  to  glorify  God  as  God^  but  yield- 
ed themselves  up  to  the  despotic  sway  of  a  tyrant 
brother,  and  truth  was  at  last  secreted  from  the 
public  eye;  as  the  Bible  was  in  after  ages,  when 
men  must  needs  try  the  experiment  again,  and 
attempt  to  wave  the  banner  of  the  cross  over 
the  unholy  combination.  The  coming  of  Mes- 
siah and  the  period  of  his  incarnation,  were 
matters  of  divine  purpose  and  heavenly  predic- 
tion, not  entirely  obliterated  from  the  minds  of 
Gentile  moralists.  But  systems  of  philosophy, 
and  rules  of  ethicks,  very  dilferent  from  the  re- 
velation which  God  had  given,  kept  these  things 
out  of  sight,  and  proclaimed  them  too  mysterious 
for  the  vulgar  gaze.  Eastern  Magians  came 
with  their  gifts  to  the  babe  of  Bethlehem; — but 
what  more  do  we  know  about  them.''  The  ora- 
cles of  the  Cumaian  Sibyl,  announced  the  coro- 
nation of  a  universal  king;  but  then  these  ora- 
cles were  deposited  in  a  stone  chest  in  the  tem- 
ple of  Jupiter,  and  were  guarded  from  public 
inspection  by  civil  law. — Such  is  the  danger  of 
permitting  human  authority  to  play  with  the 


136 

human  conscience.  Such  is  the  result  of  suifeiv 
lu'^  man,  under  any  pretensions  not  sustained  by 
a  divine  commission,  to  control  the  moral  respon- 
sibilities of  his  brother. 

V¥hat  was  the  history  of  the  Jevvs.^  Did  they 
not  pursue  a  similar  course,  and  take  the  most 
unwarrantable  liberties  with  the  divine  preroga- 
tive.^ Did  not  the  Redeemer  explicitly  charge 
them  with  the  crime  of  making  void  the  law  by 
their  traditions?  Were  they  not  broken  up  into 
sects  and  parlies,  each  contending  most  zealous- 
ly for  its  own  peculiar  tenets.''  Were  they  not 
divided  on  the  very  question,  to  the  discussion 
of  which  these  remarks  are  devoted — whether 
the  written  law  alone  was  of  divine  authority? 
Did  they  not  differ  in  their  interpretation  of  the 
law,  and  sanction  by  statutes  of  their  own,  a 
variety  of  moral  maxims,  on  which  the  Redeem- 
er animadverted  with  the  most  unsparing  severi- 
ty? Had  they  not  destroyed  the  simplicity  of 
the  scriptures,  defaced  the  beauty  of  their  own 
ceremonial  ordinances,  di-essed  oil  the  person  of 
the  long  promised  Messiah  in  political  livery, 
and  converted  the  prophecies  into  so  many  mili- 
tary mottoes,  by  their  own  unsanctified  specula- 
tions.'' And  did  they  not,  while  engaged  in  these 
demoralizing  proceedings,  celebrate  the  praises 
of  Moses  in  the  loftiest  strains,  and  pronounce 
the  highest  eulogies  upon  the  WTitings  of  the  pro- 
phets.^ O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  the  Master 
would  have  gatlieied  thy  children  together;  but 
their  consciences  were  seared  by  the  splendid, 
but  deceiving,  processes  of  human  law. 


187 

What  was  that  "career  of  shame,"  to  use  the 
language  of  a  modern  writer,  which  the  primi- 
tive church  "ran  with  tvild  incontinence  through 
the  night  of  the  dark  ages?"  Ah!  the  memori- 
als of  her  aberration  are  yet  before  our  eyes, 
awaiting  his  approach,  who  is  coming  to  set  up 
his  kingdom  with  its  appropriate  glories,  and 
who  will  reign  in  human  hearts  without  a  rival? 
Did  not  a  most  gorgeous  ritual,  sustained  by 
great  ecclesiastical  oppression  and  finarcial  re- 
source, supersede  the  authority,  and  occupy  the 
place,  of  the  Bible?  Had  not  Luther  and  Calvin, 
and  that  whole  host  of  evangelical  heroes,  to 
contend  with  the  arrogance  of  councils,  and 
plead  the  cause  of  truth  against  the  encroach- 
ments of  ecclesiastical  power?  These  were 
the  champions  of  human  freedom.  They  sigh- 
ed after  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  had  made 
them  free,  and  counted  not  their  lives  dear,  that 
they  might  inscribe  upon  the  portal  of  every 
christian  temple,  and  write  on  the  fleshly 
tablet  of  every  luimju  heart, —  The  Bible  is  tfie 
only  rule  of  failli  and  practice.  They  had  to 
contend  against  that  very  power^  of  whose  rise 
we  have  been  writing,  and  which  set  up  human 
laws  in  the  house  of  God;  and  their  names 
shall  live  in  blest  remembrance,  while  the  re- 
cords of  God's  mercies  shall  be  read  with  de- 
light, by  the  redeemed  on  earth. 

And  for  what  did  the  Puritans  suff-^r?  Why 
fled  they  to  the  American  vvildcruess,  to  seek  a 

home  among  unsanctitied  savages?    Were  they 

12* 


138 

too  unsocial,  too  fastidious,  or  too  heretical,  to 
live  in  a  better  clime?  Or  did  they  seek  to  es- 
cape from  an'ecclesiastical  tyranny  striving  to 
establish  a  cruel,  unrelenting,  and  degrading 
lordship  over  their  conscience?  How  could  they 
submit,  or  how  could  any  man  who  has  any  re- 
spect for  himself  submit,  to  such  statutes  as 
the  following  which  their  sovereign'^s  crown  was 
pledged  to  support: 

1 .  That  no  preacher,  under  a  bishop  or  dean, 
shall  make  a  set  discourse,  or  fall  into  any  com- 
mon place  of  divinity  in  his  sermons,  not  com- 
preliended  in  the  39  articles. 

2.  That  no  parson,  vicar,  curate,  or  lecturer, 
shall  preaeh  any  sermon  hereafter,  on  Sundays 
or  holydays  in  the  afternoon^  hut  expound  the 
Catechism^  Creed^  or  ten  commandments;  and 
that  those  be  most  encouraged  ivho  catechise 
children  only* 

Paul  would  not  have  submitted  to  such  things 
for  an  hour.  And  neither  could  these  magnani- 
mous men,  to  whom  we  Americans  owe  our 
lofty  ideas  of  the  equal  rights  of  men.  Nor  is 
it  long  since  these  things  were  done.  A  few 
years  only  have  rolled  by,  since  they  landed  on 
these  shores,  where  liberty  has  now  spread  her 
mantle  over  a  large  and  flourishing  and  noble 
nation:  and  the  apostolic  tones  of  Robinson's 
address,  as  he  bid  these  spirited  sons  of  truth 
an  effectionate  farewell,  still  rest  upon  our  ears, 
and  thrill  along  our  nerves.     He  said: 

*Nears  His.  Fur. vol.  2.  p.  153. 


139 

Brethren, 

We  are  now  quickly  to  part  from 
one  another;  and  whether  I  may  ever  live  to  see 
your  faces  on  earth  any  more,  the  God  of  heaven 
only  knows;  but  whether  the  Lord  lias  appoint- 
ed that  or  no,  1  charge  you  before  God  and  his 
blessed  angels,  that  you  follow  me  no  farther 
than  you  have  seen  me  follow  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

If  God  reveal  any  thing  to  you,  by  any  other 
instrument  of  his,  be  as  ready  to  receive  it  as 
ever  you  were  to  receive  any  truth  by  my  min- 
istry; for  I  am  verily  persuaded,  the  Lord  has 
more  truth,  yet  to  break  forth  out  of  his  htjly 
word.  For  my  part,  I  cannot  sufficiently  be- 
wail the  condition  of  the  reformed  churches, 
who  are  come  to  a  period  in  religion,  and  will 
go  at  present  no  farther  than  the  instruments  of 
their  reformation.  The  Lutherans  cannot  be 
drawn  to  go  beyond  what  Lutiier  saw ;  whatever 
part  of  his  will  our  God  has  revealed  to  Calvin, 
they  will  rather  die  than  embrace  it;  and  the 
Calvinists,  you  see,  stick  fast  where  they  were 
left  by  that  great  man  of  God,  who  yet  saw  not 
all  things. 

This  is  a  misery  much  to  be  lamented;  for 
though  they  were  burning  and  shining  lights  in 
their  times,  yet  they  penetrated  not  into  the 
whole  counsel  of  God;  but  were  they  now 
living,  would  be  as  willing  to  embrace  fuither 
light  as  that  which  they  first  received.  I  be- 
seech you  remember,  it  is  an  article  of  your 
church  covenant,  that  you  be  ready  to  receive 


140 

tvhatever  truth  shall  be  made  known  to  you  from 
the  wiitten  word  of  God.  Remember  that,  and 
every  other  article  of  your  sacred  covenant. 
But  I  must  herewithal  exhort  you  to  take  heed 
what  you  receive  as  truth;  examine  it,  consider 
it,  and  compare  it  with  other  scriptures  of  truth, 
before  you  receive  it;  for  it  is  not  possible  the 
christian  world  should  come  so  lately  out  of 
such  thick  antichristian  darkness,  and  that  per- 
fection of  knowledge  should  break  forth  at 
once."* 

And  if  in  the  present  day,  we  should  have 
reverted  to  such  an  unhappy  state;  if  there  is 
any  thing  to  be  found  among  us  like  that  which 
such  men  would  reprove;  if  our  summaries  or 
Creeds  have  in  any  measure  become  substitutes 
for  the  Bible,  or  have  forbidden  any  investic  ation  ' 
beyond  their  own  sectarian  limits;  if  truth  is 
rather  learned  from  them,  than  from  the  scrip- 
tures, by  any  classes  of  professing  christians ; 
if  they  have  given  shape  to  our  thoughts,  or 
moulded  our  religious  ideas  and  phrases  into 
their  own  peculiar  forms;  if  they  have  become 
the  tests  of  christian  character,  and  have  author- 
itatively fixed  the  terms  of  christian  commu- 
nion ;  if  they  avail  to  keep  a  christian  from  bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  supper,  and  close  the  doors 
of  the  sanctuary  against  a  man  who  has  the 
scriptural  qualifications  of  a  minister  of  Clirist; 
if  they  have  instructed  us  to  make  the  law  of 
Christ  a  rule  of  ecclesiastical  procedure  under 
the  form  of  "our  own  principles;""  and  transferred 

*  JNeal's  Hist.  Pur.  vol.  2,  p.  p.  146—7. 


141 

the  church  to  rest  on  the  basis  of  our  voluntary 
purposes,  instead  of  Christ  the  only  fouiidation^ 
then  verily  is  there  room  for  the  most  earnest 
entreaty  and  the  boldest  remonstrance.  The 
Mediatorial  prerogative  of  the  Lord  Jesus  has 
been  most  sintuily  invaded;  and  there  is  not  a 
believer  in  Christendom,  in  the  ministry  or  out 
of  it,  who  is  not  entitled,  in  the  place  which  the 
providence  of  God  has  called  him  to  occupy,  to 
record  his  unhesitating  and  determined  dissent. 
We  now  close  this  Jirst  part  of  our  Remarks, 
under  the  full  impression, formed  in  the  most  con- 
scientious manner,  that  the  history  of  the  early 
ages  of  Christianity  aflfords  no  proof  in  favour  of 
these  authoritative  rules  called  Creeds  or  Con- 
fessions; but  that  all  the  testimony  which  is  to 
be  derived  from  that  source,  is  directly  against 
them.  And  we  honestly  think  we  have  demon- 
strated all  this  by  the  quotations  which  we  have 
made,  and  which  we  might  have  multiplied  and 
varied  without  much  difficulty.  Independently 
of  that  testimony,  however,  we  believe  that 
every  christian  who  has  the  Bible  in  his  hands, 
and  who  is  in  the  habit  of  reading  it,  as  it  ought 
to  be  read,  has  all  the  materials  which  are  ne- 
cessary to  make  up  a  satisfactory  and  correct 
judgment  on  the  matter  of  discussion.  The 
church  of  God  w^ants  nothing  more  than  his 
own  divine  institutions;  and  with  these  she  may 
grow  and  flourish,  until  the  enlarged  purposes 
of  divine  grace  concerning  her,  are  all  accom- 
plisjied,  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  have  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  l^ord  and  of  his-Christ. 


14^ 

This  we  hope  most  clearly  to  show  in  the  second 
part  of  our  Remarks.  May  the  Lord  Jehovah 
bless  and  prosper  every  man  who  seeks  to  know 
and  do  his  will;  and  multiply  the  number  of 
those  who  shall  fully  comprehend,  and  fairly 
appreciate,  this  principle  of  intellectual  glory^ 
and  spiritual  living. 


PART  U, 


SECTION   1. 

That  God  has  given  law  to  all  mankind,  is 
an  unquestionable  fact; — '^sin  is  not  nnputed 
■where  there  is  no  law."  That  all  mankind  are 
bound  to  obey  God's  law",  is  equally  self-evi- 
dent:— '"'•the  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die"  And 
that  God  is  pleased  with  human  viitues,  pos- 
sessed and  cherished  in  obedience  to  his  law,  is 
abundantly  plain; — "hath  the  Lord  delight  in 
burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices,  as  in  obeying  the 
voice  of  the  Lord?"  This  institution  creates 
the  turning  point  of  human  destiny,  and  forms 
the  most  important  of  all  important  things,  with 
which  mankind  can  be  concerned.  Who  then 
can  be,  or  ought  to  be,  displeased,  because  the 
(Urine  Imv  is  most  urgently  pressed  upon  the 
human  conscience?  Who  then  would,  or  ought 
to,  regard  any  plea  which  may  be  advanced 
against  \ii>,  exdusive  authority?  Who  then  would 
br«'ak  one  of  its  least  commandments,  and  teach 
men  so,  running  the  risk  of  being  pronounced 
by  the  JMaster,  "-the  least  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.''"  It  is  a  matter  of  the  most  serioug 
moment  to  every  human  being,  that,  as  the  rule 


144 

of  his  conscience,  it  should  preserve  its  owa 
awiul  suprcmac)^;  and  that  nothing;  else  should 
at  any  time  occupy  its  place,  or  set  aside  its 
claims.  The  Son  of  God,  who  came  down  from 
heaven  to  magnify  it  and  make  it  honourable,  will 
accept  the  love  of  no  man  who  will  not  keep  its 
statutes  and  ordinances  to  do  them. 

This  law  makes  its  appeal  directly  to  con- 
science, or  that  moral  faculty  with  which  every 
man  is  endowed,  and  which  qualifies  him  to 
judge  on  moral  subjects.  Conscience  is  God's 
witness  in  a  man's  own  bosom,  bearing  testimo- 
ny in  himself.  He  carries  it  with  him  wherever 
he  go(^,  and  it  sits  in  judgment  on  every  thing 
he  thinks,  says,  and  does:  so  that  he  is  evidently 
susceptible  of  moral  impressions  to  a  much  great- 
er extent,  than  can  possibly  be  known  by  anv  but 
God  and  his  own  soul.  And  if  the  authority  of 
God  cannot  control  him,  and  lead  him  to  the 
faithful  discharge  of  all  his  moral  duties,  nothing 
else  can.  All  agencies  are  necessarily  less  pow- 
erful than  that  which  is  divine;  and  where  this 
is  successfully  resisted,  or  when  the  conscience 
has  been  seared  by  habits  of  rebellion,  in  yain 
does  man  interpose  his  puny  arm 

This  faculty,  like  every  other  power  which 
man  possesses,  is  susceptible  of  great  cultivation, 
^ot  more  certainly  will  the  human  body  grow 
up  to  its  own  proper  size  by  the  use  of  healttiful 
nutriment,  or  the  hunjan  mind  expand  and  en- 
large by  its  own  exercises  in  the  pursuit  of  va- 
rious knowledge,  than  conscirnce  will  become 
vigorous,  refined,  and  tender,  by  being  brought 


145 

under  the  immediate  superintendence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  the  wholesome  discipline  of  truth. 
Men  differ  more  in  nothing  than  in  the  amount 
of  conscience  they  display;  or  in  the  application 
they  make  of  moral  principles  to  the  transactions 
of  life:  and  among  professing  christians,  that 
difference  will  always  be  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  of  scriptural  light  they  have,  or  to  the 
use  they  make  of  that  light.  There  are  many 
things  which  some  christians  do,  which  other 
christians  cannot  consent  to  do;  and  yet  they  all 
plead  conscience.  If  then,  under  analogous  cir- 
cumstances, men  are  very  cautious  what  they  eat 
or  drink,  lest  they  should  injure  their  bodies;  or 
are  anxious  to  acquire  the  best  means  of  intel- 
lectual improvement;  why  should  they  not  be  as 
careful,  as  circumspect,  as  solicitous,  as  diligent, 
that  this  moral  power  should  be  matured  by 
some  corresponding  process.'*  And  if  the  study 
of  the  Bible  is  the  great  mean  which  God  has 
provided,  why  should  they  not  most  patiently 
employ  it,  that  they  may  accomplish  so  desirable 
•an  end.^  Do  they  not  eat  the  best  food  they  can 
obtain  .f*  Do  they  not  seek  the  best  instructors 
to  guide  them  in  academic  pursuits.'^  Why  not 
then  take  the  best  of  all  books;  that  which  is 
most  happily  adapted  to  make  them  proficients 
in  religious  science,  and  study  it  as  though  their 
most  earnest  desire  was,  to  '-have  a  good  con- 
science.^'' And  should  not  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel, whose  province  it  is,  as  ambassadors  of 
Jesus  Christ,  to  commend  themselves  to  every 

13 


146 

man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God,  urge  them 
by  all  that  is  lovely,  and  by  all  that  is  terrible, 
to  search  the  scriptures?  Is  it  not  their  business, 
does  not  their  greatness  in  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven consist  in  their  doing  and  teaching  God's 
commandments  ? 

Manifestly  it  must  be  a  most  presumptuous, 
and  consequently  a  most  injurious,  thing,  to  in- 
terfere between  God  and  a  man's  conscience: 
either  to  take  away  the  light  by  which  God 
would  illumine  the  human  mind,  or  to  introduce 
any  rival  influence,  by  which  the  mind  may  be 
distracted.  It  is  surely  one  of  the  most  perilous 
experiments  an  unwary  moralist  ever  tried:  nor 
can  he  otfer  one  good  reason  why  he  should 
do  so.  Can  he  manage  conscience  better  than 
its  maker.''  Can  he  mend  the  moral  constitu- 
tion which  Jehovah  has  set  up,  or  place  the 
church  under  better  regulations,  than  those 
which  He  has  given  who  redeemed  her  by  his 
blood.?  '^Who  hath  instructed  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord,  or  being  his  counsellor,  hath  taught  him.'"' 
Why  then  these  human  rules  to  regulate  whui 
God  has  aheady  regulated,  or  to  shut  the  mouth 
of  prayer  and  praise  which  God  hath  opened.'' 
Whence  this  human  authority  that  is  so  exten- 
sively exercised  in  the  house  of  God,  that  cir- 
cumscribes his  own  divme  institutions,  and  binds 
heavy  burdens,  grievous  to  be  borne,  upon  the 
free-born  sons  and  daughters  of  Zion?  Is  it 
from  heaven,  or  of  men.''  If  it  be  from  heaven, 
say  so  distinctly  and  audibly.''  Is  it  of  men, 
then  where  is  your  authority.''     If  you  cannot 


147 

produce  the  most  unequivocal  warrant,  then 
you  have  interfered  between  God  and  the  human 
conscience,  and  by  your  own  social  laws  have 
degraded  both  yourselves  and  your  brethren. 
You  are  but  repeating  the  experiment  which 
Jewish  Rabbies,  and  ambitious  Prelates,  have 
tried  before  you,  whose  sad  catastrophe  we  have 
already  related.  If  there  is  a  warrant,  let  us 
see  it,  and  we  withdraw  our  protest  against 
these  ecclesiastical  proceedings. 

Such  a  plea,  however,  has  been  advanced. 
Speaking  of  the  heresies  of  the  Apostolic  age,  and 
referring  to  provisions  which  were  then  made  for 
the  safety  of  the  churches^  Dr.  Miller  says — "An 
inspired  Apostle  directed  them  not  to  be  content- 
ed with  a  general  profession  of  belief  in  the  reli- 
gion of  Christ,  on  the  part  of  those  who  came  to 
them  as  christian  teachers;  but  to  examhie  and 
iri)  them,  and  to  ascertain  whether  their  teaching 
were  agreeable  to  the  '•'•form  of  sound  words" 
which  they  had  been  taught  by  him:  and  he  adds, 
with  awful  solemnity — ^If  any  man  bring  any 
other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received, 
let  him  be  accursed.'  Here  was,  in  effect,  an 
instance,  and  that  by  Divine  warrant,  of  em- 
ploying a  CREED  AS  A  TEST  OF    ORTHODOXY:  that 

is,  men  making  a  general  profession  of  Chritiani- 
ty,  are  expressly  directed  by  an  inspired  Apos- 
tle, to  be  BROUGHT  TO  THE  TEST,  IN  WHAT 
SENSE     THEY      UNDERSTOOD      THAT     GOSPEL,     of 

which,  in  general  terms,  they  declared  their  re- 


148 

ceplion;  and  how  they  explained  its  loading 
doctrines."* 

Now  the  question  is,  what  was  this  Creed — 
a  human  or  a  divine  formulary?  According  as 
this  question  shall  be  answered,  will  Dr.  INI's 
whole  argument  stand  or  fall.  If  it  was  not  a 
Creed  imposed  by  human  authority,  it  has  no- 
thing to  do  with  our  subject.  We  never  object- 
ed to  divine  prescriptions.  When  God  com- 
mands, we  feel  ourselves  solemnly  bound  to 
obey;  and  it  is  at  our  peril  if  we  do  not  obey. 
And  as  Paul  appears  to  have  been  so  much  alarm- 
ed lest  ANOTHER  GOSPEL  should  be  introduced 
into  the  churches,  we  are  very  much  inclined  to 
believe  that  it  was  a  divine  Creed,  or  the  truth 
which  he  had  declared  to  them  on  divine  author- 
ity. A  human  Creed^  framed  by  man's  wisdom, 
sustained  by  man's  reasonings,  and  enforced  by 
man's  authority,  is  the  very  thing,  as  we  appre- 
hend the  matter,  of  which  he  was  afraid:  and 
that  is  the  very  thing  of  which  we  are  afraid  too, 
and  against  which,  like  him,  we  have  lifted  up 
our  hands. 

But  suppose  it  was  a  human  Creed,  imposed 
by  the  authority  of  these  churches,  whom  Paul 
addressed;  which  we  must  suppose,  in  order 
that  the  argument  may  have  any  bearing  upon 
the  subject  in  hand.  Then  Dr.  M.  considers  it 
as  "an  instance,  in  effect^  and  that  by  Divine 
warrant,  of  employing  a  (human)  Creed  as  a 
test  of  orthodoxy."  We  believe  we  interpret 
him  fairly,  though  the  phraseology  is  very  timid 

*  Lecture  p.  p.  25 — fi. 


149 

and  cautious.  Now  then,  we  ask,  what  Creeds 
are  here  warranted  by  divine  authority?  The 
Creeds  which  those  churches  made?  Then 
where  are  they?  As  an  inspired  Apostle  has 
sanctioned  them,  we  should  rejoice  to  see  them, 
for  we  must  receive  them  as  inspired: — though 
a  sight  of  them  would,  we  confess,  change  all 
our  views  on  the  liberal  arrangements  of  the 
divine  government,  and  on  the  correspondence 
between  human  powers  and  human  responsibili- 
ties.— Or  does  this  Creed  of  the  apostolic  age, 
cover  all  later  Creeds  framed  by  synods  and 
councils  in  after  ages?  Then  we  have  two  or 
three  consf^quences  to  look  at.  And  the  first 
is — That  if  authority  be  exercised  in  making 
rules  by  a  divine  warrant,  then  obedience  must 
follow  by  the  same  warrant.  Has  any  divine 
promise  been  given,  by  which  the  human  con- 
science may  be  assured  that  all  these  rules, 
which  ecclesiastical  assemblies  may  make,  are 
necessarily  right?  Then  hei^e  is  the  old  explod- 
ed idea  odnfaUibUiitj.  It"  that  will  not  answer, 
then,  if  these  rules  should  happen  to  be  wrong, 
yet  as  we  must  obey  lawful  authority,  we  have 
a  divine  warrant  to  live  in  error.  It  will  not 
avail  to  reply,  that  this  authority  may  be  unlaw- 
fully exercised,  and  that  we  must  judge  for  our- 
selves according  to  the  Scriptures;  f  )r  that  would 
be,  merely  a  warrant  to  synods  to  make  bad 
rules;  or,  in  other  words,  to  make  rules  which 
no  one  is  bound  to  obey,  which  is  no  warrant  at 
all.     And  as  it  is  adnntted  on  all  hands,  that" 

13* 


150  ^v    #' 

councils  may  err  and  do  err,  and  err  in  their 
Creeds  too,  it  follows  that  they  have  not  a  di- 
vine warrant  to  make  rules  for  the  human  con- 
science.— We  know  indeed  that  there  is  authori- 
ty to  be  exercised,  and  a  corresponding  obedi- 
ence to  be  rendered,  among  men:  but  let  it  be 
remembered,  that  in  both  cases  it  must  be  in 
THE  Lord. 

A  second  consequence  at  which  we  have  to 
look,  is,  that  when  synods  and  councils  in 
ages  past,  fran'ied  Creeds,  their  creeds  must  have 
been  all  alike  obligatory  on  the  human  con- 
science ;  and  the  science  of  morals,  as  it  passed 
down  through  the  various  modifications  of  dif- 
ferent ages,  thus  presents  to  our  view  the  most 
uncouth  specimen  of  confusion  we  ever  saw. 

And  a  third  consequence  is, — which  is  perhaps 
the  best  of  the  three, — that  as  we  have  synods 
and  councils  continually  meeting,  and  as  errors 
are  very  abundant  in  our  age.  these  assemblies 
are  bound  to  makc^  a  new  Creed  now^  which  we 
confess  we  should  be  glad  to  see  then^  undertake ; 
but  only  because  we  think  it  would  put  an  end 
to  them  altogether.  So  various  are  the  ideas  of 
different  denominations  about  the  different  arti- 
cles of  their  own  religious  Creeds,  that  they 
never  can  unite,  no,  not  even  among  themselves, 
until  they  abandon  these  instruments  of  union. 

Dr  M.  appears  to  us  to  think  that  the  great 
value  of  a  Creed  is,  that  it  is  a  test  of  orthodoxy. 
And  what,  pray,  is  orthodoxy?  Is  it  defined  in  the 
Bible.?  If  it  is,  then  what  other  test  do  we 
want?  We  apprehend,  however,  that  our  breth- 


151 

len  are  a  little  troubled  on  this  point;  for  they 
continually  connect  unbelief  in  the  dochines, 
with  the  rejection  of  the  Confession  of  Faith. 
Their  favourite  maxim  is,  that  "men  are  seldom 
found  opposed  to  Creeds,  until  Creeds  have  be- 
come opposed  to  them."*  If  this  be  so,  or  if 
men  are  not  likely  to  discover  the  doctrines  of 
their  Creed  from  the  Bible,  and  by  their  own 
reading-  of  its  pages  too,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
powerful  arguments  against  their  Creed  which 
can  possibly  be  conceived.  The  Bible  is  not  a 
collection  of  riddles:  it  is  a  book  which  every 
man  may  peruse — the  way-faring  man,  though 
a  fool,  need  not  err  therein.  If  then  their  doc- 
trines are  so  plainly  written  in  the  scriptures, 
that  '•'he  who  runs  may  read,''  w^hy  all  this 
alarm.''  For  when  the  Creed,  as  an  authorita- 
tive human  rule,  is  gone,  the  doctrines  remain 
still  in  the  scriptures,  exposed  to  every  man's 
eyes;  and  no  fear  may  be  indulged,  that  under 
the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  all  these  doc- 
trines will  not  make  a  full  impression  of  their 
own  image  upon  the  human  spirit.  If  Calvinism, 
which  we  understand  to  be  what  is  called  ortho- 
doxy, be  truth,  we  have  no  doubt  the  Spirit  wdl 
establish  it  by  his  own  influences  to  the  belief 
of  every  man,  as  far  as  that  man  may  know 
what  good  use  to  make  of  it:  and  if  it  be  not 
truth,  the  sooner  the  Creed  which  contains  it  is 
abandoned,  the  better. 

But  suppose  a  test^  over  and  above  the  written 
word  of  God,  be  necessary,  and  so  necessary  that 

*  Lecture  p.  32. 


152 

discord  and  confusion  must  follow  as  a  matter 
of  course  without  it;  and  that  the  Bible  alone 
would  fail  in  communicating  its  spiritual  benefits 
to  mankind ;  then  why  have  we  not  such  a  test  giv- 
en to  us,  by  him  whose  kingdom  is  joy  and  peace 
in  the  Holy  Ghost?  Why  are  we  left  to  these 
unsatisfactory  and  inconchisive  reasonings  on 
the  subject  of  our  divine  warrant  to  frame  such 
a  test?  It  seems  to  us  to  be  a  very  strange  pro- 
blem, that  such  an  instrument  should  be  so  indis- 
pensable, and  yet  that  neither  the  Lord  Jesus, 
nor  any  of  his  Apostles,  should  ever  have  given 
it  to  us.  They  have  furnished  us  with  a  Bible, 
a  church,  a  ministry,  the  ordinances;  but  this 
thing  that  we  call  a  Creed,  they  never  did  give 
us;  and  yet  the  church  cannot  live  without  it. 
It  is  passing  strange!  Our  brethren  certainly 
must  be  in  the  wrong,  lor  the  master  is  most 
certainly  in  the  right. — '•'•Let  God  be  true." 

But  after  all,  the  Vcdiie  of  this  test  is  to  //t/ 
and  examine  "christian  teachers."  And  why 
not  try  and  exum'me  christian  people?  Truth 
is  just  as  important  to  the  people  as  it  is  to  their 
teachers;  their  souls  are  just  as  precious;  and 
the  Bible  is  equally  binding  upon  them.  We 
apprehend,  that  Dr.  M.  himself  would  shrink 
fj-om  this  extended  application  of  his  own  prin- 
ciples. But  cannot  we  try  and  examine  these 
christian  teachers,  without  one  of  our  authori- 
tative Creeds?  Or  when  one  of  our  Creeds  is 
framed,  are  not  these  teachers  still  tried  and 
examined?  Will  our  brethr'^n  receive  any  'nan 
tuerely  upon  his  general   approbation   of  the 


lo3 

Westminster  Confession  of  Faith?  Or  do  tliey 
suppose  that  our  argument  requires  us  to  re- 
ceive a  man  merely  upon  the  general  profession 
of  his  approbation  of  the  Bible — whether  he 
be  Jew  or  Gentile?  If  then  these  teachers  must 
be  tried  and  examined  after  all,  and  the  Creed 
docs  not  serve  the  purpose  of  a  test^  why  defend 
it  on  the  ground  that  it  is  valuable  as  a  test? 
This  matter,  however,  we  forbear  to  press. 

Dr.  Miller  has  quoted  two  scripture  texts, 
which,  he  appears  to  assert,  Amount  to  a  direct 
warrant  for  the  employment  of  a  Creed,  i.  e.  an 
authoritative  rule  of  faith  and  manners,  as  a  test 
of  orthodoxy.  These  we  now  proceed  to  ex- 
amine. If  he  has  fairly  interpreted  them,  if 
they  do  propose  a  human  formulary,  over  and 
above  the  word  of  God,  then  we  must  admit 
there  is  a  flaw  in  our  reasonings  somewhere. 
We  will  receive  any  Creed,  for  which  a  divine 
warrant  can  be  brought;  and  we  hope  our  breth- 
ren will  be  as  willing  to  reject  all  Creeds,  for 
which  no  divine  warrant  can  be  produced.  The 
first  of  these  texts  is  taken  from  Paul's  second 
epistle  to  Timothy,*  and  is  as  follows: — "Hold 
fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  which  thou  hast 
HEARD  of  me,  in  faith  and  love  which  isin  Christ 
Jesus."  Now  if  this  refers  to  a  Creed  which 
Paul  had  framed,  and  bound  down  upon  the  con- 
science of  Timothy,  by  his  mere  ministerial  su- 
periority, without  a  divine  warrant;  and  if  he 
thereby  affords  us  an  example  which  we  are  at 
liberty  to  imitate;  then,  in  the  first  place, let  it 

Cli.  1.  V.  18, 


154 

be  remembered,  that  it  was  an  unwritten,  or  as 
Dr.  M.  would  term  it,  a  nuncupatwe  Creed; 
and  was  therefore  not  intended  to  be  transmitted 
from  generation  to  generation,  unless  we  revive 
the  old  doctrine  of  tradition,  which  was  exploded 
by  the  reformation.  And,  in  the  second  place,  let 
be  remembered,  that  if  it  did  not  flow  from  the 
mere  authoiity  of  Paul  as  a  man,  but  was  an 
inspired  communication  which  that  Apostle 
made  to  Timothy,  as  an  official  witness  for 
Christ,  declaring  what  were  the  elements  of  the 
new  dispensation,  it  is  altogether  foreign  to  our 
subject;  or  else,  it  is  a  solemn  admonition  to  this 
young  minister  of  the  gospel,  to  take  heed  to 
himself  not  to  depart  from  the  truth  as  it  had 
been  given  to  him  in  its  own  divine  connexions; 
nor  to  receive  it  in  the  form  in  which  the  secta- 
rians of  that  age  were  pleased  to  insist  upon  it. 
There  are  many  passages  in  the  writings  of 
this  venerable  apostle,  which  are  quite  as  ex- 
plicit, as  that  to  which  Dr.  M.  refers,  and  which 
must  all  be  interpreted  on  the  same  principle. 
In  addressing  the  Romans,  he  says,*  '-But  God 
be  thanked,  that  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin ;  but 
ye  have  obeyed  from  the  heart  that  form  of  doc- 
trine which  was  delivered  you.'"  Here  are  doc- 
trines^ as  well  as  tvords^  shaped,  perhaps,  inlo  a 
Creed.  But  the  question  recurs,  was  this  Creed  a 
mere  /wfr«a?i  instrument.''  If  so,  Creeds  must  have 
been  very  numerous  in  those  days;  and  it  is  very 
strange  that  our  brethren  have  not  a  single  one  to 
give  us.    In  addressing  the  Corinthians,  he  says: 

^Chap.  6  V.  17,         Chap.  11.  v.  23     29. 


155 

"For  I  have  received  of  the   Lord,  that  which 
also  I  delivered  unto  you."  i.  e.   what  he   had 
now   written    unto   them  in  this  epistle,  they 
had  HEARD  from  him  before:  but  when  he  did 
utter  it  they  had  heard  it   from   an  authoiised 
messenger,  speaking  lo  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and   with  the   awful  sanctions  of 
divine  authoriUj.     And  again,  alluding  to  what 
he   had  done,  when   he   made  them  acquainted 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  ordinance  of  the 
Lord's  supper,  he   says;  "Now  I  praise  you, 
brethren,  that  ye  remember  me  in  all  things,  and 
keep  the  ordinances  as  I  delivered  them   unto 
you:''''*     '•'•For  1  have  received  of  the  Lord^  that 
ivhich  also  I  delivered  unto  ^oii.""f     And  when 
writing  to  the  Thessalonians,  he   employs  simi- 
lar language: — "Therefore,  brethren,  stand  fast, 
and  hold  the  traditions  which  ye  have  been  /oito/ii, 
ivhetlier  by  word  or  our  epistle."! — It  must  be 
very  evident,  that  all    such  phrases,  which   are 
frequent  with  this  apostle,  aud  which  are  syno- 
nymous vvitli  that  to  which  Dr.  M.  has  referred, 
do  not   at  all    allude  to  any  ecclesiastical  docu- 
ments, shaped  like  our  Creeds,  but  to  the  testi- 
mony of  God,  which  he  authoritatively  delivered 
as    a  heavenly    messenger,  declaring   what   he 
had  received  from  the  Lord.     His  word  and  his 
epistles,  he  himself,  places  on  the  same  level. 

This  apostle  appears  to  be  exceedingly  care- 
ful to  inform  the  churches,  that  he  came  to  them 
as  an  ambassador  for  Christ,  and  delivered  his 
doctrines  on  divine  authority.     Listen  to  him: 

*  Chap.  U.  V.  2.         t  V.  23.  1 2  These.  2.  15. 


156 

"Paul,  an  apostle,  not  of  men,  neither  by  man, 
but  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the  Father.  I  cer- 
tify you,  brethren,  that  the  gospel  which  was 
preached  of  me,  is  not  after  man."  "For  I  neither 
received  it  of  man,  neither  v/as  T  taught  it,  but 
by  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ."  "And  I, 
brethren,  when  I  came  unto  you,  came  not  vvith 
excellency  of  speech,  or  of  wisdom,  declaring 
unto  you  the  testimony  of  God.  My  speech 
and  my  preaching  was  not  with  enticing  words 
of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  power:  That  your  faith  should 
not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men.,  but  in  the  jyower 
of  God.''''  The  reader  surely  cannot  suppose, 
that  this  apostle  was  an  abetter  of  haman  Creeds, 
pressed  upon  the  human  conscience.  Did  he 
not  wish  to  make  religion  a  divine  matter.'' 
Does  he  not  expressly  assert,  that  he  did  ? 

Dr.  Macknight,  who  was  sufficiently  orthodox, 
we  presume,  to  be  quoted  on  a  text  like  the  pre- 
sent, remarks  in  a  note  on  the  place — "This  is 
an  insinuation  that  the  false  teachers  had  proudly 
and  impiously  introduced  into  their  discourses, 
a  variety  of  high  sounding,  mysterious  words 
and  phrases  of  their  own  invention,  on  pre- 
tence that  they  expressed  the  christian  doc-_ 
trines  better,  than  those  used  by  the  Apos- 
tles. This  bad  practice  Timothy  was  to  re- 
sist, by  adhering  closely  to  the  words  and 
phrases  in  which  the  Apostle  had  taught  him 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  which  he  terms 
wlwlesome  words^  because  being  dictated  by  the 


157 

Spirit^'^  they  are  more  fit  for  expressing  the  doc- 
trines of  Clirist,  tiian  any  words  of  human  in- 
vention.— The  teachers  in  modern  times,  who, 
in  explaining  the  articles  of  the  christian  faith, 
use  phrases  different  from  the  scripture  phrase- 
ology, would  do  well  to  attend  to  this  Apostoli- 
cal injunction."'"' — Dr.  Macknight  was  a  great 
admirer  of  the  constitutional  principles  of  the 
church  of  Scotland,  and  yet  he  found  in  this 
text  no  hint,  delivered  under  Apostolical  fore- 
siglit,  in  favour  of  the  Westminster  Confession 
of  Faitli. 

It  deserves  to  be  particularly  remembered, 
that  at  the  period  to  which  the  Apostle  refers, 
when  Timothy  heard  a  form  of  sound  words 
from  him,  and  when  the  churches  received  the 
traditions  he  had  left  with  them,  the  New  Test- 
ament scriptures  themselves,  much  less  human 
Creeds  based  upon  them,  were  not  written.  The 
Apostles  did  not,  for  a  considerable  time  after 
their  Master's  ascension,  commit  to  writing  what 
he  taught  them.  As  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
remark  in  a  subsequent  section,  they  were  not, 
and  could  not  be,  prepared  for  so  exalted  an 
etTort.  Yet  their  unwritten  communications 
weie  of  divine  authority;  and  the  churches,  by 
such  references,  are  explicitly  required  to  con- 
sider what  they  had  heard.,  as  of  divine  origin. 
Paul,  when  he  reminds  Timothy  of  the  form  of 
sound  words  he  had  heard  from  him,  alludes  to 
nothing  he  had  done  in  his  own  name,   or  by 

*  1  Cor.  2.  13. 

U 


158 

virtue  of  his  own  authority;  but  to  the  manner 
in  ivhich  divine  truth  ivas  at  first  promul^cd. — 
We  hope  wc  have  satisfied  the  reader,  that  this 
text,  which  Dr.  J\l.  has  quoted,  was  notiu  effect 
a  divine  warrant  for  a  human  Creed. 

The  second  text  which  Dr.  M.  quotes  is  in 
these  words; — "If  any  man  bring  any  other  gos- 
pel unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received,  let  him 
be  ACCURSED."  The  reader  will  please  to  no- 
tice that  this  second  text  is  not  a  conclusion 
from  the  first;  though  it  would  make  no  very 
particular  difl^erence  in  our  argument,  if  it  W'as. 
The  first  is  from  an  epistle  to  Timothy^  and  the 
second  from  an  epistle  to  the  Gcdalians.  This 
remark  may  be  unnecessary;  but  we  are  not 
sure  that  it  is.     Let  all  things  stand  fair. 

An  Apostolic  curse  is  a  serious  thing:  and  is 
to  be  neither  carelessly,  nor  angrily,  denounced 
against  human  beings.  It  is  no  light  matter  to 
be  cast  out  of  the  church,  and  delivered  over  to 
Satan,  as  despisers  of  the  Son  of  God,  or  as 
corrupters  of  his  gospel.  Any,  who  may  thus 
indulge  themselves  in  anathematizing  their 
brethren,  because  they  do  not  agree  with  them 
in  tiieir  ideas,  should  seek  to  make  "assurance 
doubly  sure,"  as  to  their  divine  right  to  do  so. 
Even  when  hard  pressed  in  argument,  they 
must  be  very  cautious  how^  they  take  refuge  here ; 
for  it  is  the  last  resort  of  God's  best  authorized 
messengers,  and  may  mean  something  more  than 
an  oratorical  fling,  or  a  sanctimonious  threat. 
Let  them  examme  their  Master's  instructions, 
given  in  the  parable  of  the  tares,  and  ascertain 


1.59 

how  far  they  arc  required  to  leave  such  thhigs 
to  better  informed,  and  less  prejudiced,  judges. 
Perchance,  in  their  hasty  zeal,  they  may  com- 
mit a  blunder,  and  pluck  up  the  wheat,  while 
tlicy  are  seeking  for  the  tares — not  being  wise 
enough  to  know  the  difference  in  all  cases.  We 
hope  the  day  for  sucli  ecclesiastical  pomp  has 
gone  by,  and  that  we  are  learning  some  modesty 
from  the  mistakes  of  ages  past.  And  we  really 
think  we  love  tlie  pure  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  as  well  as  our  brethren,  though  they 
should  take  the  Confession  of  the  Faith,  and  we 
receive  not/iing  but  the  Bible. 

But  what  application  has  this  text,  which  Dr. 
M.  has  quoted,  to  the  subject  in  hand.^  Is  it  an 
ascertained  matter,  that  if  we  deny  the  authority 
of  human  Creeds,  we  bring  into  the  church 
anollier  s;ospel?  Is  it  a  decided  point,  that,  if 
our  Confession  of  Faith  should  be  severely  cen- 
sured on  account  of  the  form  in  which  it  pre- 
sents divine  truth,  he  who  does  it,  proclaims 
anollier  gospel?  Are  the  orthodox  party  so  per- 
fectly sure  that  they  alone  have  the  truth,  and  so 
perfectly  sure  that  all  others  are  wrong,  that 
they  may  ventiu'e  to  utter  this  fearful  anathema 
against  ^^dl  but  themselves.''  This  is  taking  high 
ground  in  our  controversial  world,  and  a  man 
has  need  to  look  well  where  he  is  standing,  when 
he  takes  it.  The  charge  of  preaching  anolher 
gospel^  or  even  an  insinuation  that  looks  like  it, 
must  be  supported  by  strong,  numerous,  and  sub- 
stantial vouchers.  It  mus^  not  be  quickly,  nor 
dogmatically,  made.     It  must  not  be  taken  up 


160 

on  vague  report;  on  interested  representations; 
on  superficial  reasonings;  on  uninformed  con- 
jecture; nor  on  angry  suspicions.  It  is  a  charge 
of  liigh  treason,  which  must  be  proved,  anddoubly 
proved,  and  by  which  a  man  loses  his  life — his 
all.  And  hard  must  be  the  heart,  degraded  the 
mind,  and  "a  world  of  iniquity"  the  tongue,  that 
can  harshly  make  it.  If  we  should /ee/  a  charge 
like  this,  and  feel  it  in  all  the  bitterness  of  our 
soul^  no  man  can  be  surprised. — But  after  all, 
our  simple  crime  is,  that  we  are  pleading  for  the 
authority  of  our  Master's  law  against  that  which 
his  servants  have  set  up,  pretending  to  his 
authority  while  they  do  it,  which  authority  they 
cannot  show  us.  If  to  maintain  that  the  Bible 
is  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  be  to  in- 
troduce another  gospel  into  the  church,  then  evi- 
dently the  gospel  is  a  human  contrivance. 

But,  again  we  ask,  what  application  has  the 
text  to  the  matter  in  hand?  Was  the  apostle 
writing  on  the  subject  of  human  Creeds.''  If  he 
was,  then  has  he  most  decidedly  condemned 
them,  and  forbidden  the  churches  to  receive 
them.  Did  he  cast  a  prophetic  glance  forward 
to  these  times,  and  argue  the  whole  subject 
against  us,  charging  us  with  bringing  in  another 
gospel,  when  we  maintain  that  God  alone  is 
Lord  of  conscience.'*  O,  that  the  reader  would 
but  turn  to  tlie  epistle,  and  iislen  to  his  eloquent 
defence  of  tlie  liberty  of  the  redeemed!  Etforts 
were  made  to  enslave  them,  and  he  stands  forth 
their  cliampion,  covering  tliem  with  the  shield 
of  inspiration.    Others  were  bringing  in  statntcs* 


161 

and  ordinances,  enforcing  them  by  human  au- 
thority^ and  so  setting  up  anotiier  gospel:  he 
rises  in  the  midst  of  the  Galatian  churches,  and 
sounds  an  alarm; — "I  certify  you,  brethren,  that 
the  gospel  which  was  preached  of  me,  is  not 
after  man;  for  I  neither  received  it  of  man,  nei- 
ther was  I  taught  it  but  by  the  revelation  of 
Jesus  Christ:  stand  fast  therefore  in  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free,  and  be  not 
entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage." 
Surely  the  apostle  does  not  afford,  in  this  epistle, 
even  the  shadow  of  a  divine  warrant  for  human 
inventions.  He  most  resolutely  met  every  at- 
tempt to  impose  them  upon  the  christian  con- 
science, and  speaks  of  the  liberty,  to  which 
christians  are  entitled,  in  the  most  enchanting 
terms.  If  then  these  authoritative  rules  are 
mere  human  inventions,  let  our  brethren  judge 
who  are  in  danger  of  bringing  in  another  gos- 
pel, in  the  sense  in  which  Paul  uses  thatphrase — 

THEY  OR  WE.'* 

It  is  worth  while  to  remark,  that  after  all  the 
rules  which  men  may  make,  christians  still  will 
differ  in  their  opinions.  They  did  ;o  in  Paul's 
day:  they  did  so  in  the  ages  that  immediately 
succeeded  his  day;  they  do  so  now;  they  do  so 
in  our  own  denomination,  and  that  too  with  our 
received  Creed  in  their  hands.  The  thing  is 
natural  and  unavoidable,  and  the  highest  effort 
of  human  power  cannot  make  it  otherwise,  or 
alter  the  laws  of  thn  hunian  mind.  But  there 
are  things  in  which  they  all  agree ;  elemental 

11* 


principles,  which  not  one  of  them  will  dispute; 
and  in  which  the)^  can  hold  fellowship  together. 
Will  they  not  all  admit  that  the  Bible  is  the 
word  of  God?  Will  they  not  agree  that  the 
Bible  is  a  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  practice? 
Then  why,  O  why,  will  they  have  another  rule, 
and  contend  with  each  other  about  the  terms  in 
which  it  shall  be  expressed?  Why  do  they  not 
live  in  harmony  and  love?  Surely  they  ought 
to  treat  one  another  with  the  greatest  tenderness  ■ 
and  forbearance;  and  never  rend  the  unity  of 
their  spiritual  fellowship  by  unholy  strife. 
So  Dr.  Miller  himself  would  affectionately  ex- 
hort them,  and  we  would  join  with  him: — 
"Let  it  be  apparent  to  all,  that  you  cherish  no 
dispositions,  advance  no  claims,  employ  no  lan- 
guage, which  can  reasonably  disturb  the  harmo' 
ny  of  your  intercourse  with  other  christians. 
Let  it  be  seen  that  you  know  how  to  esteem 
those  who  differ  from  you,  as  well  as  to  contend 
for  the  truth;  and  to  cover  with  the  mantle  of 
charity,  that  which  you  connot  approve.  There 
is  a  charm,  in  this  conduct,  which  even  infidelity 
itself  cannot  resist.  It  will  do  more  than  a  tliou- 
sand  carnal  weapons  to  pi(t  to  silence  the  igno- 
rance of  foolish  men^  and  to  "extort  a  trenibling 
homage  from  those  who  knoiv  not  God,  and  obey 
not  the  gospel  of  oar  Lord  Jesus  Christ. ''^^ 

"Providence  has  cast  our  lot  in  those  latter 
daySy  which  are  pre-eminently  characterised  in 
Scripture  as  perilous  times.  Trials  are  coming 
on  the  church,  which,  were  not  her  King  in  the 

*Letteis,vol.  l.p.  352—3. 


163 

jnidst  of  her,  would  appal  the  stoutest  heart.  Is 
this  a  time  for  the  followers  of  Clirist  to  be  di- 
vided? Is  this  a  time  lor  iiiem  to  /(ill  out  by 
the  way^  and  to  hite  and  devour  one  anolher? 
Alas!  no.  Under  these  circumstances,  how 
solemn  is  the  call  to  union  and  love!  In  this 
situation,  how  obvious  is  the  duty  of  all  who  be- 
lieve the  gospel,  to  unite  in  exhibiting  our  com- 
mon christiariity  to  mankind  in  her  meekest, 
loveliest,  and  most  attractive  form!  How  hon- 
ourable might  not  such  an  example  be  to  reli- 
gion! How  oraamental  to  the  church!  How 
comfortable  to  ourselves!  How  useful  to  our 
troubled  world!" 

^'•Remember,  that  the  period  is  hastening  on, 
when  all  the  real  followers  of  Christ  shall  meet 
in  a  more  harmonious  and  a  more  happy  world. 
Oceans  now  roll  between  them;  mountains  and' 
deserts  keep  them  asunder;  and  differences  of 
opinion  and  denomination,  qffen  more  inhospii' 
able  than  the  most  drea)  y  deseii.,  place  at  a  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  those  for  whom  Christ 
died.  But  in  that  blessed  and  holy  Society 
which  you  are  speedily  to  join,  in  that  glorified 
multitude  which  no  man  can  number^  9;athered 
out  of  all  nations^  and  kindreds^  and  peoples^ 
and  lons^ues^  these  differences  will  be  for  ever 
unknown.  There  perfect  holiness  and  perfect 
love  shall  reign  undisturbed  and  eternal.  Let 
this  happy  prospect  fdl  you  with  the  lendcrest 
love  to  all  who  bear  the  image  of  Chtist;  hit  it 
comfort  you  amidst  the  contentions  and  divisions 
©f  the  present  imperfect  state;  and  let  it  excite 


164 

you  daily  to  cherish  those  dispositions  whicb 
will  form  the  best  preparation  for  that  kingdom, 
where  all  christians  shall  appear  to  each  other, 
what  they  are  in  fact,  one  body  in  Christy  and 
every  one  members  one  of  another.''''* 

Now,  if  things  be  in  such  a  condition,  "what 
temptation  is  there  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  bigot- 
ry or  contention?  Why  can  we  not  quietly  and 
meekly  enjoy  our  privileges  together?"!  Why 
should  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith  keep 
us  apart,  and  divide  us  off  into  so  many  voluntary 
associations?  Why  should  we  actually  /a//  out 
by  the  ?wi/,  and  mutually  refuse  fellowship,  be- 
cause we  cannot  persuade  one  another  to  walk, 
each  on  the  other's  mvn  principles?  There  must 
be  something  wrong;  and  the  very  fountain  of 
the  whole  error  is,  the  unlawful  exercise  of  hu- 
man authority  in  the  church  of  God.  As  he 
warrants  it  not,  he  smiles  not  upon  it.  In  want- 
in^*-  his  sanction,  it  wants  his  blessimg.  In  being 
a  carnal  instrument,  it  makes  carnal  professors. 
And  in  creating  subjects  of  ^'doubtful  disputa- 
tion," it  instructs  christians  how  to  "bite  and 
devour  one  another,"  and  teaches  them  to  ima- 
gine that  union  is  neither  a  duty  nor  an  advant- 
age.— "Every  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits." 
Theologians  need  not  flatter  themselves  that  they 
shall  ever  "gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of 
thistles;"  and  tliey  are  wasting  their  time,  their 
talents,  and  their  feelings,  in  seeking  after  sucli 
unnatural  things. 

*  Miller's  Letters,  p.  p-  353—5.  t  Ibid.  p.  364. 


165 

SECTION  2. 

Having  in  the  preceding  section,  as  we  be- 
lieve, fairly  set  aside  the  plea  which  has  been 
advanced  in  favour  of  Creeds  and  Confessions — 
that  they  are  enforced  by  a  divine  warrant,  we 
now  proceed  to  state  and  illustrate  some  general 
principles,  hoping  to  show  that  the  Scriptures 
are  most  explicit  in  their  condemnation  of  all 
such  ecclesiastical  instruments.  If  we  can  do 
this,  we  shall  then  have  accomplished  as  much 
as  can  be  required  of  us,  in  order  to  justify  the 
views  we  have  expressed.  The  reader's  atten- 
tion is  particularly  requested  to  this  part  of  our 
discussion,  as  we  think  it  will  develope  the  op- 
erations of  a  heavenly  agency,  designed  to  subdue 
and  sanctify  his  own  spirit,  and  calculated  to 
induce  him  to  seek  after  a  better  reason  for  his 
own  Creed  or  Confession,  than  men  are  often 
disposed  to  give — "Our  fathers  worshipped  in 
this  mountain.""  Among;  the  rising;  dead  shall 
he  himself  appear,  to  answer  for  himself  before 
the  Ju  igc  of  all  the  earth;  and  '•'•though  these- 
three  men,  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,"  were  by  his 
side,  they  should  deliver  but  their  own  souls  by 
their  righteousness  " 

1.  Tlie  Bible  is  the  ivord  of  the  lipmp^  God^ 
and  all  that  it  says  is  necessarily  obligatory  on 
the  hinnan  conscience^  for  that  reason. 

"All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God.'*" 
Therein  holy  men  of  God  have  spoken  unto  us. 
as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  This 
is  the   peculiar   excellence    of  the   scripturesr 


IGG 

Tiiey  alone  can  claim  this  high  and  distinguish- 
ed honour.  All  the  various  systems  of  morals, 
which  have  been  pressed  upon  the  attention  of 
men,  have  aspired  after  this  distinction,  and  many 
of  them,  as  well  as  human  Creeds  and  Confes- 
sions, have  endeavoured  to  persuade  men  that 
they  were  from  heaven:  but  the  Bible  alone  has 
succeeded  in  substantiating  so  serious  a  claim. 
It  is  a  message  from  Jehovah,  proposing  a  relief 
for  the  misfortunes  of  mankind. — And  we,  who 
live  under  the  present  dispensation,  possess  it  in 
all  its  fulness;  for  God  formerly  spake  unto  our 
fathers  by  the  Prophets;  but  he  hath  in  these 
last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son.  So  then 
every  minister  of  the  gospel  goes  forth  with  a 
Thus  saith  the  Lord^  to  gain  the  ear,  convince 
the  understanding,  win  the  heart,  and  awe  the 
conscience,  of  his  fellow  man. — "Now  then  we 
are  amoassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did 
beseech  you  by  us:  we  pray  you  in  Christ''s  stead, 
be  ye  reconciled  to  God."" 

If  there  be  such  a  book  in  the  world,  one 
coming  directly  from  God  h.mself,  and  if  that 
book  makes  the  present  and  the  everlasting  in- 
terests of  mankind  its  particular  subject,  surely 
it  must  be  the  best  of  all  books.  No  man  can 
commit  a  greater  piece  of  folly  than  to  neglect 
or  reject  it.  It  ought  to  rouse  a  universe  to 
thought  and  effort,  and  make  all  creation  listen 
to  what  Jehovah  is  pleased  to  say.  Devils 
should  tremble,  as  they  do,  if  it  reveals  no  hope 
for  them,  but  confirms  the  judicial  sentence  un- 
der  which   they   writhe    and   blaspheme;    an- 


107 

gels  should  pry,  and  inquire  and  watch,  as  they 
do,  that  they  may  learn  what  further  mysterious 
purposes  their  great  Creator  may  please  to  dis- 
close; and  man,  to  whom  the  book  is  sent,  and 
for  whose  good  it  is  written,  acting  as  under  in- 
fluences which  might  exhaust  the  very  essence 
of  his  being,  is  solemnly  bound,  by  every  ra- 
tional, philosophical,  literary,  and  moral  consi- 
deration, to  become  its  diligent,  attentive,  hum- 
ble, and  believing  reader.     Who  would  imagine, 
that  a  human  being  could  be  found  who  had  not 
read  and  believed  the   Bible?     And  if  any  man 
should  be  so  unhappy  as  to  be  unable  tb  procure 
a  Bible,  who  would  not  suppose,  that  the  whole 
race  to  vvhich  he   belongs  would  be  in  commo- 
tion until  this  poor,  unfortunate,  immortal  had 
read  the  word  of  God?     Oh,  surely  the   great 
an>dety  of  every  man''s  soul,  and  the  great  etibrt 
of  every  man's  life,  ought  to  be  to  understand, 
and  to  become  familiar  with,  this  good,  this  de- 
lightful, this   heavenly   book.     And  if  any  one 
should  be  so  happily  disposed,  as  to  become  its 
servant,  and  the  servant  of  his  fellow  men,  and 
God   should  be  pleased   to   give  him  his  Holy 
Spirit,  that  he  might  have  an  additional  heavenly 
intluence  to  carry  him   through   his  benevolent 
enterprise;  if  any  one  should  feel  a  d^^ep  concern 
for  the  spiritual   inlerests   of   his   fellow  men, 
would  he  not  carry  this  book  with  him  wherever 
he   went,  and   preach   its  glorious  doctrines  to 
every  one  he  met?     If  its  principles  are  all  cor- 
rect, and  its  doctrines  all  true,  as  they  necessa- 
rily must  be,  because  they  come  from  God;  if  it 


168 

never  can  deceive  a  human  being,  which  it  ceiv 
tainly  cannot  do,  because  God  cannot  lie,  would 
he  not  make  it  "the  man  of  his  counsel?"  If 
he  is  in  the  pulpit;  if  he  is  by  the  couch  of  af- 
fliction, or  the  pillow  of  death ;  if  he  is  in  a 
church  court,  endeavouring  to  scan,  or  seeking 
to  promote,  the  interests,  not  of  one  human  be- 
ing merely,  but  of  unnumbered  thousands,  and 
that  n^t  only  in  his  own  age,  but  for  many  ages 
to  come,  should  not  the  Bible  be  his  companion 
and  instructor?  Surely  he  can  need  no  substi- 
tute, and  must  be  too  much  engrossed  by  heaven- 
ly statutes,  and  too  full  of  heavenly  impulses,  to 
inquire  for  any  thing  else!  He  has  already  the 
best  book  that  can  be  written.  If  he  acts  con- 
sistently with  it,  he  is  always  right;  if  he  de- 
parts from  it,  he  is  always  wrong.  What  our 
fathers  thought,  or  what  "our  excellent  stand- 
ards'' may  say,  constitutes  not  the  subject  of 
his  solicitude:  his  business  is  to  hear  what 
God  the  Lord  has  to  say,  and  to  tell  what  he 
knows,  and  no  more. 

Jesus  himself,  while  upon  earth,  uniformly 
represented  the  truth  as  coming  directly  from 
God,  and  manifested  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  that 
his  hearers  should  receive  it  under  that  view. 
"•I  came  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  oivn 
imll^  but  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me." — "My 
doctrine  is  not  mine^  but  Im  that  sent  me.  If 
any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God^  or  whether  I 
speak  of  myself." — For  I  have  not  spoken  of 
myself;  but  the  Father  which  sent  me,  he  gave 


169 

me  a  commandment,  what  I  should  say,  and 
what  I  should  speak."  The  principle  we  are 
discussing,  was  then  sufficiently  important  to  be 
impressed  by  him  frequently  on  the  human  con- 
science;— he  ever  gave  his  audience  to  under- 
stand, that  when  they  heard  truth  flora  an  au- 
thorized agent,  God  himself  was  addressing 
them. — Ilis  name  is  The  Word  of  God. 

The  Apostles  did  the  same  thing.  They  were 
God's  messengers;  they  were  Christ's  servants: 
and  this  was  their  glory.  How  cautiously  they 
exercised  authority!  How  quickly  they  shrunk 
from  every  thing  that  even  looked  like  a  lord- 
ship over  one  another,  or  over  God's  heritage! 
How  careAd  not  to  offend  one  of  Christ's  little 
ones!  How  they  paused  and  entreated,  ere  they 
venured  to  anathematize  a  human  being,  or  to 
fling  him  out  of  the  pale  of  the  visible  church, 
to  share  the  wrath  denounced  against  the  world 
thai  lieth  in  wickedness!  Their  great  concern 
was,  that  Christ  should  be  preached;  and  if 
that  were  done,  even  though  it  was  out  of  envy 
and  strife,  yet  they  rejoiced  that  Christ  was 
preached.  They  would  glory  in  their  very  in- 
fii-ntities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  nught  rest  upon 
thern  They  asked  no  favour  from  civil  courts; 
they  coveted  not  human  applause;  'troubled  on 
every  side,  perplexed,  persecuted,  cast  down, 
always  bearing  about  in  the  body  the  dying  of 
tlie  Lord  Jesus,"  tliey  went  forth  as  the  conse- 
craied  agents  of  him,  \vho  has  all  power  given 
into  his  hands,  and  told  his  message  to  the  world, 

15 


^'  170 

Their  doctrines  bore  no  human  names;  it  was 
not  Paul's  gospel ;  it  was  not  Peter's  gospel ;  it 
was  the  gospel  of  God  concerning  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  which  they  preached.  And  if 
any  of  the  churches  judged  differently,  and  at- 
tempted to  append  human  names  to  the  doctrines 
they  believed,  they  instantly  reproved  their  pre- 
sumption. 

And  this  is  precisely  what  the  church  is  re- 
quired to  do  now.  She  is  not  at  liberty,  under 
the  form  of  a  voluntary  association,  to  enforce 
/ler  oimi  principles.  She  must  promulge  the  com- 
mands of  her  Lord,  and  that  in  his  own  name; 
and  she  steps  entirely  out  of  her  place  when 
any  pretension  is  made  to  original  authority. 
All  her  ministers  are  called  upon  to  preach  the 
gotpel  of  God,  and  to  persuade  men  out  of  the 
scriptures.  But  they  trifle  with  all  that  is  solemn 
in  ministerial  responsibility,  and  delightful  in 
ministerial  privilege,  when  they  conduct  their 
administration  by  rules  of  human  invention. 

In  fact,  the  whole  value  of  ministers  of  the 
gospel  consists  in  this;  that  God  has  sent  them 
to  proclaim  his  own  word,  and  administer  to 
men  his  truth,  under  the  direction  of  his  own 
spirit.  A  moral  revolution  must  be  accomplish- 
ed in  this  world,  like  a  political  revolution.  All 
things  cannot  be  done  at  once.  God  Ims  human 
beings  to  deal  with,  and  their  infirmities,  as  well 
as  their  advantage,  must  be  consulted.  Men  may 
make  better  ministers  of  the  gospel  than  angels; 
human  languages  are  very  various  and  dissimi- 
lar; and  Jehovah's  Bible  cannot  be  found  written 


171  ^' 

iij  all  lano-uages  by  an  instantaneous  elibvt,  unless 
he  should  do  it  hiniselC,  as   when  he   wrote  the 
law  on  tables  of  stone  on   Mount  Sinai,  or  as 
when  he  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was 
light.     And  if  the  Bible  was  written  in  every 
lanj^uage, — we  are  a  poor  unhappy  race — all  men 
cannot  read;  multitudes  are  ignorant;  many  can- 
not see  the  light  of  the  sun;  and  little  children 
live   upon  parental  smiles      Or  if  we  could  all 
read,  still  the  sympathies  of  social  life  are  indis- 
pensable to  human  comfort; — '-it  is  not  good  for 
man  to  be  alone."     How  kind  and  considerate 
was  our  heavenly  Father  in  erecting  the  minis- 
terial institution!     Oil,  most  surely,  he  never 
intended  that  this  ordinance  of  mercy  should  be 
a  desolating  curse!     He  never  intended  to  give 
power  to  his  apostles  of  mercy  to  injure  and  de* 
grade  those  whom  he  sent  them  to  bless!     He 
never  commissioned  them  to  be  lords  over  human 
consciences,  and  to  bring  in  their  own  laws, 
framed  according  to  their  own  library  or  philo- 
sophic notions,  to  regulate  his  church. — No,  no. 
"We  have  tliis  treasure  in  eaithen  vessels,  that 
the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God.,  and 
not  of  usP''     "Who  then   is  Paul,  and  who   is 
Apollos,  but  ministers   by   wuom  ye  believed, 
even  as  the   Lord  i^ave  to  every  man?     I  have 
planted,  Apollos  watered;  but  God  ^ave  the  in- 
crease.    So  tiien  neither  is  he  that  planteth  any 
thing,  neither  he  that  watereth;   but  God  that 
giveth  the  increase." — Nay.  brethren  in  the  min- 
istry, ye  must  not  assume  auilioi'ity  in  the  house 
of  God.    Tlie  Master  never  gave  it  to  you.    He 


n2r  '    . 

said  to  his  disciples, — "whosoever  will  be  gi^eat 
among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister;  and  who- 
soever will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be  your 
servant;  even  as  the  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his 
life  a  ransom  for  many  "  The  scribes  and  the 
pharisees  corrupted  the  Jewish  church  by  their 
struggle  for  domimon;  and  the  bishops  of  the 
early  ages  of  the  christian  church,  broke  up  her 
unity,  destroyed  her  peace,  and  changed  her 
institutions  and  her  law,  by  their  lust  of  poiver. 
We  must  not  imitate  their  example. — Be  not  ye 
called  Rabbi. 

This  principle  we  are  considering,  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  in  this  discussion.  For,  in 
stating  it,  we  are  describing  that  aggressive  in- 
fluence by  which  God  himself  affects  men.  The 
Bible  is  not  "a  dead  letter;"  but  it  is  spirit  and 
life.  Independently  of  all  power  which  men 
may  employ  under  the  direction  of  ecclesiastical 
courts,  it  wields  a  mighty  influence  over  the  hu- 
man mind.  It  engrafts  upon  the  human  spirit 
its  own  image,  and  furnishes  to  society  the  very 
elements  of  its  moral  existence.  The  different 
sects  contend  with  each  other  about  their  Creeds, 
or  the  various  doctrines  to  which  their  Creeds 
have  given  distorted  forms ;  but  they  all  appeal  to 
the  Bible.  The  Bible  is  in  fact  an  instrument  of 
divine  operation,  by  which  Jehovah  intends  to  go- 
vern men.  It  is  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believ- 
eth.  It  is  that  heavenly  formulary,  in  which 
he  has  sketched  out,  in  the  manner  he  thought 


173 

best,  a  system  of  morals,  for  the  regulation  of 
maiikindr  He  who  believes  on  the  authority  of 
the  Bible,  has  acquired  a  faith  which  does  not 
stand  in  the  wisdom  of  man,  but  in  the  power 
of  God.  And  he  who  preaches  on  the  authority 
of  the  Bible,  does  not  preach  "with  entichig 
words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  and  of  power."  The  Bible  then, 
instead  of  being  incapable  to  preserve  peace 
and  prevent  strife,  is  the  very  best  thing  which 
can  be  employed  for  that  purpose;  and  is  as 
superior  to  a  iiuman  Creed,  as  divine  wisdom  is 
superior  to  human  wisdom,  or  as  divine  power  is 
superior  to  human  power. 

Consistently  with  the  foregoing  remarks,  it 
has  been  promised  that  all  Zion's  children  shall 
be  taa^/dof  God]  that  the  comf)rier,  which  is 
the  Holy  Ghost,  shall  teach  us  all  things;  that 
if  any  man  lack  wisdom,  he  may  ask  of  God, 
who  givetii  liberally  and  upbraideth  not,  and  it 
shall  be  given  him;  and  that  the  "anointing" 
wliich  is  provided  for  us,  and  which  we  receive 
from  iieaven,  is  sufficient  to  make  us  understand 
the  truth.  Nay,  our  very  bodies  are  declared  to 
be  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  where  he 
carries  oji  his  own  divine  operations;  and  where 
as  an  advocate,  he  ministers  to  our  most  intense 
devotion.  He  opens  our  understandings  to  un- 
derstand the  scriptures;  he  reveals  Christ  in  us; 
he  quickens  us  into  spiritual  discernment,  and 
strengthens  us  with  might  in  the  inner  man;  he 
puriiies  his  own  temples,  so  that  Christ  may 

15* 


174 

dwell  in  our  hearts  by  faith ;  he  superintends  all 
the  moral  impulses,  all  the  intellectual  combina- 
tions, and  all  the  animal  excitements  of  our 
nature,  which  circumstances  may  create;  he 
watches  over  our  forming  characters,  that  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  we  may  be  able  to 
comprehend^  wdth  all  saints,  what  is  the  breadth, 
and  length,  and  depth,  and  height,  and  to  know 
the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge, 
that  we  may  he  filled  icithall  the  fulness  of  God. 
And  what  more  can  men  want  than  an  inspired 
volume  and  a  divine  teacher?  What  human  in- 
firmity has  Jehovah  left  unconsidered,  when  he 
made  such  provisions?  Against  what  difficulty 
has  he  omitted  to  guard?  What  enemy  to  hu- 
man peace  may  riot  and  devour  uncontrolled? 
"0  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  men  of  Ju- 
dah,  judge,  I  pray  you,  betwixt  me  and  my  vine- 
yard. What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my 
vineyard,  that  I  have  not  done  in  it,"  saith  the 
Lord.  Come,  ye  ministers  of  Christ,  accept 
the  challeno;e,  and  reason  with  your  master. 
Tell  him  of  the  insufficiency  of  his  Bible,  and 
of  your  happier  legislation  in  forming  a  Creed! 
Make  it  appear  in  his  presence  that  there  is  a 
necessity  for  other  tests  of  christian  character, 
than  the  one  he  has  furnished.  Tell  him  that  it 
is  impossible  for  the  church  to  get  along  in  peace 
and  love,  unless  the  form  in  which  he  revealed 
truth  be  altered,  and  a  concise  summary  of 
moral  doctrines  be  framed,  as  a  companion  for 
the  Bible.  Take  your  stand  on  the  threshold  of 
his  holy  temple,  and  proclaim  aloud,  that  men 


175 

who  will  not  listen  to  Moses  nnd  the  Prophets, 
to  Christ  apcl  his  Apostles,  will  ho  persuaded 
by  your  Creed;  atul  that  unless  this  demand  is 
gratified,  the  church  mnst  crumble  to  pieces. — 
The  whole  angelic  host  would  frown  at  such 
presumption. 

The  experience  of  individual  christians  must 
necessarily  confirm  the  vi<=w  we  have  taken  of 
the  influence  and  value  of  the  Bible.  Never 
did  any  man  acquire  truth  under  such  happy 
circumstances,  as  when  he  was  assured  that  he 
derived  his  convictions  from  a  divine  agent. 
Meti  are  capable  of  very  high  excitement,  both 
from  good  and  bad  causes;  and  it  is  a  very  easy 
thing  for  sectarians  in  religion  to  produce  a 
great  commotion;  but  assuredly,  he  who  receives- 
a  truth  which  he  knows  has  resulted  from  com- 
munion between  God  and  his  own  soul,  is  differ- 
ently affected  than  those  have  been,  who  have 
neither  sought  nor  felt  such  things.  We  are 
fully  aware  that  there  has  been  much  supeisti- 
tion  in  the  world ;  and  that  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  it  among  Protestants.  But  such  a  concession 
does  not  touch  the  question;  for  after  all  the 
cases  of  a  superstiti  nis  character,  which  might 
be  stated,  we  know,  that  the  direct  influence  of 
the  Bible  upon  the  human  heart,  remains  still  a 
substantial  part  of  evangelical  truth.  Let  us 
follow  a  minister  of  the  gospel  to  the  death-bed 
of  a  human  being.  It  is  an  awful  thing  to  die. 
The  prospect  of  eterniiy  is  most  appalling  to  a 
poor  sinner.  Earth  has  faded  from  his  view; 
wealth   has  lost  its  charm,  and  philosophy  is 


176 

dumb.  The  livid  flames  of  Tophet  fasten  ob 
the  unprotected  conscience — philosophic  specu- 
lation is  overreached — human  deeds  are  indif- 
ferent specimens  of  moral  principle — the  talents 
of  a  Voltaire  p;rovv  fiend-like.  There  is  nothing 
to  revive  the  dying,  nothing  to  awake  hope  and 
create  assurance,  but  the  word  of  God.  A 
scripture  text  has  a  charm,  a  power,  a  renovat- 
ing influence,  which  would  even  equip  a  thief 
on  the  cross  for  an  entrance  into  glory.  And 
as  to  a  christian — a  promise  which  he  knew 
came  from  God;  which  he  felt  to  be  sealed  on 
his  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  which  he  recog- 
nized in  its  own  divine  simplicity;  and  to  which 
he  bowed,  because  of  its  own  divine  power — this 
dissipates  all  his  darkness,  removes  all  his 
doubts,  refutes  all  his  objections,  and,  amid 
songs  of  praise  and  shouts  of  triumph,  he  is 
away  to  glory.  A  divine  assurance  is  every 
thing  to  a  dying  saint.  And  why  should  it  not 
be  every  thing  to  a  living  saint?  Tliis  is,  as 
we  believe,  the  course  which  christian  ministers 
pursue; — they  take  their  Bible  to  the  death-bed 
of  a  dying  sinner,  and  leave  their  Creeds  and 
controversies  behind  them,  as  too  unholy  for 
such  a  hailow^ed  spot,  and  too  perplexing  for 
such  a  troubled  conscience. — '•'•Remember  thj 
word  unto  thy  servant,  upon  which  thou  hast 
caused  me  to  hope.  This  is  my  comfort  in  my 
atB. cation:  for  thy  word  hath  quickened  me." 

In  further  illustration  of  our  principle,  we 
would  ask,  what  effect  is  the  church  to  have  upon 
the  world  ."^  There  is  a  very  large  portion  of  the 


177 

world  yet  to  be  enlightened: — will  christian  mea 
predicate  their  christian  efforts  upon  their  sec- 
tai'ian  Creeds?  Are  they  not  now  circulating 
the  Bible  without  note  or  comment,  merely  be- 
cause they  think  the  Bible  carries  divine  power 
along  with  it,  and  that  our  notes  and  comments 
are  very  wide  of  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel?  And 
as  to  wordlings,  which  are  nearer  home,  are  they 
not  perpetually  objecting  to  our  Creeds?  We 
may  talk  of  the  necessity  of  human  Creeds  as 
much  as  we  please;  we  may  make  what  sum- 
maries of  scripturfd  doctrines  we  please;  but 
if  the  world  will  not  receive  them  at  our  hand, 
what  then?  We  may  argue,  but  they  can  argue 
too;  for  evidently  our  Creed  is  ofo?tr  owninak- 
iM«-.  We  may  threaten,  but  tliey  will  resist; 
for  evidently  they  have  as  much  right  to  divine 
munificence  as  we  have.  We  may  pass  our 
sentence,  but  the  instrument  wants  the  master''s 
seal,  who  is  not  going  to  invalidate  his  own  in- 
stitutions to  enforce  our  statutes:  and  any  stub- 
born effort  on  our  part,  will  only  convert  the 
church  into  an  engine  of  moral  desolation. 
"The  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in  peace  of 
them  that  make  peace."  Disorder  and  confu- 
sion in  the  church,  are  always  u?ifavorable  to 
moral  impressions  on  the  minds  of  unbelievers. 
They  question,  from  such  a  circumstance,  the 
reality  of  religion  altogether,  and  depart  to  en- 
courage one  another  in  their  infidel  specuhuions. 
But  when  trutli  is  proclaimed  according  to  its 
own  simpliv'ity,  and  divine  ordinances  are  admin- 
istered according  to  their  "due  order,"  why  then. 


178 

says  Paul  to  tlie  Corinthians, — "if  there  come 
in  one  that  believeth  not,  or  one  unlearned,  he 
is  convinced  of  all,  he  is  judged  of  all;  and  thus 
are  the  secrets  of  his  heart  made  manifest;  and 
so  falling  down  on  his  face  he  will  worship 
God,  and  report  that  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth." 
But  perhaps  our  allusion  to  men  of  the  world 
may  bring  us  under  suspicion.  We  have  been 
told  that  we  have  the  popular  side  of  this  ques- 
tion with  that  class  of  human  beings,  and  a  man- 
ifest effort  has  been  made  to  identify  our  opin- 
ions with  the  most  foibidding  heresies.  And 
what  then?  Are  such  individuals  wrong  all  over.*^ 
Have  they  no  truth,  no  conscience,  no  moral 
perceptions?  Are  all  their  reasonings  sophistry? 
Are  all  their  conclusions  erroneous?  Do  not  the 
scriptures  speak  of  the  Gentiles  as  having  the 
law  written  on  their  hearts,  and  doing  by 
nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law?  When 
the  young  man  came  to  Jesus,  though  afterwards 
he  went  away  very  sorrowful,  not  liking  the 
commandment  he  had  received,  were  there  no 
estimable  qualities,  no  fine  attributes  of  moral 
character,  about  him,  which  induced  the  master 
himself  to  love  him?  There  are  many  happy 
views  of  a  divine  truth,  acquired  and  illustrated 
by  human  minds,  which  perhaps  have  not  been 
transformed  by  the  regenerating  process  of  di- 
vine grace; — shall  we  cast  them  off  as  unwor- 
thy of  our  concern,  as  if  no  good  thing  could 
come  out  of  Nazareth?  This  argument  has 
not  been  analysed,  sifted,  and  fairly  formed  by 
those  who  use  it.     And  if  it  had  been,  it  must 


179 

Ue  remembered,  tbat  human  inventions  are  never 
introduced  into  the  church,  untd  the  simplicity 
of  divine  truth  has  been  corrupted;  and  that 
there  have  been  Arian  as  well  as  Calvinistic 
Creeds.  In  fact,  there  has  been  all  manner  of 
bad  Creeds  in  the  church:  so  that  the  argument 
works  both  ways. 

But  if  it  be  so,  that  the  value  of  any  particu- 
lar Creed  is  admitted  only  by  the  religious  de- 
nomination which  declares  it;  and  if  the  world 
will  not  receive  that  Creed,  but  will  receive  the 
Bible,  then  what  will  the  church  reply? — Let 
the  reader  study  this  queer  problem.  It  is  worth 
his  special  attention.  We  ask  him,  what  has 
God  established  the  church  on  earth  for.''  Is  it 
not  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  ,^  Are  not 
christians  the  light  of  the  world.'*  Has  not  God 
set  Jerusalem  upon  a  hill,  elevated  beyond  the 
possibility  of  being  hidden.''  If  then  the  world 
will  not  receive  our  Creed,  but  will  receive  the 
Bible,  which  shall  the  church  abandon — her 
synodical  instrument,  or  the  conversion  of  ihe 
wojld,-^   We  leave  the  reader  to  take  his  choice. 

Again.  What  objection  can  the  world  make 
to  our  Creeds.^  It  must  be,  we  presume,  found- 
ed either  upon  principle,  or  upon  the  apprehen- 
sion of  some  restraint.  If  it  be  on  principle^ 
then  of  course  the  church  must  yield,  for  she 
may  not  trample  down  principle.  If  it  be  on 
the  apprehension  of  some  restraint;  then  that 
restraint  must  be  on  the  just  liberty,  or  the  li- 
centiousness, of  the  human  mind.  If  it  be  a  re- 
straint upon  jual  liberty^  then  the  matter  is  again 


180 

tesolvGcl  into  a  question  of  principle.  If  it  be  a 
restraint  upon  licentiousness^  then  tiie  amount  is, 
that  a  Confession  of  Faith,  framed  by  human 
wisdom,  and  managed  by  human  skill,  is  a  more 
powerful  instrument  of  moral  operation,  than  the 
Bible;  and,  of  course,  is  the  best  book  of  the 
t\\o.  We  leave  the  reader  again  to  take  his 
choice. 

After  all,  are  theologians  really  astonished, 
that  the  world  itself,  ignorant  and  unholy  as  that 
world  may  be,  should  prefer  the  Bible  to  their 
Creed?  Can  they  be  offended  that  truth  should 
be  so  much  better  told  in  tlie  Scriptures  than  in 
any  volume  they  have  written,  that  even  a  world- 
ling can  see  it?  And  do  they  not  perceive  that 
this  may  after  all  be  the  true  reason,  and  that 
they  deserve  no  censure,  but  great  praise,  for 
the  ground  they  have  taken?  Truth  is  truth, 
wherever  it  may  be  found,  and  by  whomsoever 
it  may  be  told.  The  illiterate  fisliermen  of  Gali- 
lee, might  tell  it  better  than  Jewish  priests; 
and  however  simple  they  were,  truth  in  their 
hands  might  become  a  most  powerful  mean 
of  reformation.  But  when  you  are  searching 
after  the  rule  of  truth. — that  which  must  suit 
all  minds  and  all  ages, — you  ask  after  some- 
thing, which,  it  is  a  pure  impossibility  that  un- 
inspired men  should  ever  give  you.  Hence  our 
Creeds  have  been  perpetually  changing;  have 
been  of  different  forms  and  sizes,  among  ditfer- 
eni  denominations;  and  have  never  exactly  suited 
any  one  Every  mtm  will  and  n^ust  have  his  own 
Creed,  and  all  the  world  cannot  deny  his  right, 


Ibl 

nor  prevent  his  exercising  it.  But  the  Bible  has 
never  been  enlarged  by  any  one  except  its  great 
author:  and  when  human  laws,  and  those  who 
made  them,  have  passed  away,  and  are  known 
no  more,  it  still  remains  the  monument  of  divine 
wisdom  and  divine  power.  And  now,  when  it 
is  so  freely  distributed,  and  men  are  every  where 
sitting  down  to  read  it,  there  is  still  that  mi j>hty 
intluence  overpowering  all  resistance: — it  would 
seem  as  if  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had  again  gone 
down  to  the  valley  of  dead  and  dry  bones, — 
for  lo,  there  is  a  noise,  and  a  shaking,  and  the 
bones  are  coming  together,  bone  to  its  bone. 

We  feel  anxious  that  this  principle  should  be 
distinctly  apprehended.  That  the  Bible  is  tlie 
ivord  of  God^  is  a  proposition  which  none  of 
our  brethren  will  controvert,  we  know;  but  at 
the  same  time,  it  is  one  which  no  man  can  ad- 
mit, without  conceding  to  us  the  whole  subject 
of  controversy.  All  opposition  withers  under 
its  intluence;  or  if  any  thing  re^iiains  to  impede 
our  course,  there  must  be  some  deficiency  in 
apprehending  this  simple  truth.  No  living  man 
can  want  any  better  testimony  on  m')ral  sub- 
jects, nor  any  better  arranged  system  of  religi- 
ous truth,  than  the  word  of  God.  Its  state- 
ments are  like  mathematical  axioms:  they  are  in 
thti  moral  world,  what  facts  are  in  the  natural 
world;  and  as  ^vcU  may  you  attempt,  by  a  fine 
and  ingenious  effort  of  philosophy,  to  alter  the 
arrangement  of  those  orbs  that  stud  the  firma- 
ment, or  modify  the  nature  of  these  dying  crea- 

16 


18B 

tures  on  earth,  whose  generations  descend  so 
rapidly  to  the  tomb,  as  to  mend  by  your  theol- 
ogy the  spiritual  analogies  of  God's  evangeli- 
cal world.  Now  let  us  be  charged  with 
heresy  as  we  may,  our  great  principle,  on  which 
we  rest  all  that  we  have  to  say,  is,  that  the  gos- 
pel is  the  ivisdom  of  God^  and  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation,  to  every  one  that  believeth.  And 
as  the  salvation  of  our  own  souls,  and  the  main- 
terance  of  a  good  conscience,  depend  upon  ad- 
hermg  to  it,  we  cannot,  and  will  not,  give  it 
up; — no,  not  in  the  smallest  item. 

Perhaps,  however,  we  may  still  be  thought  to 
be  entirely  too  zealous,  as  none  will  deny  our 
principle.  Be  it  so;  we  wish  controversy  did 
not  exist  on  the  subject,  and  that  the  great  Head 
of  the  church  were  permitted,  by  his  servants, 
to  govern  his  own  church  by  his  own  law.  But 
we  have  distinctly  defined  the  matter  against 
W'hich  all  our  opposition  is  directed,  and  which, 
it  is  in  vain  to  say,  has  no  existence  That 
thing,  concerning  which  Dr.  M.  remarks, — 
"That  subscribing  a  church  Creed  is  not  a  mere 
formality;  but  a    very  solemn   transactiOxV, 

WHICH    MEANS    MUCH,    AND     INFERS     THE    MOST 

SERIOUS  OBLIGATIONS.  It  is  Certainly  a  trans- 
action which  ought  to  be  entered  upon  with 
much  deep  deliberation  and  humble  prayer;  and 
in  which,  if  a  man  be  found  to  be  serious  in  any 
THING,  he  is  bound  to  be  honest  to  his  God, 
honest  to  himself,  and  honest  to  the  church 
which  he  joins.  For  myself,  I  know  of  no 
transaction,  in  which  insincerity  is  more  justly 


183 

t'hu-o^oablc  with  the  dreadful  sin  of  lving  t^ 
TiJE  Holy  Ghost,  than  in  this."''*  Is  there  here 
no  interference  with  Jehovah's  government,  as 
being  the  only  Lord  of  conscience,  or  with  tlie 
word  of  God,  as  being  the  only  rule  to  his 
church?  Is  there  here  no  snare  to  a  marrs 
soul,  nor  any  danger  of  his  taking  that  to  be  the 
law  of  his  conscience,  by  the  Lraach  of  which 
he  lies  to  Ike  Holy  Ghost?  JNIoreover,  we  know 
how  readily  men  convert  religion  into  showy 
form  and  pompous  ceremony,  attempting  to  add 
solemnity  to  divine  worship  by  institutions  of 
their  own;  how  rapidly  human  rites,  when  once 
introduced  into  the  church,  ascended  to  a  lord- 
ship over  the  christian  conscience*,  and  with 
what  bitterness  of  spirit,  and  asperity  of  man- 
ner, different  sects  liave  contended  for  their  O'vn 
particular  ordinances  We  know  how  much 
more  importance  is  a^tai'hed  to  the  fact  of  be- 
longing to  a  particular  de.iiomination,  than  to  the 
church  of  God;  and  how  really  our  sectarian 
connexions  reguhite  our  mutual  attentions. 
And  we  well  remember,  when  our  own  rever- 
ence for  our  Presbyterian  standards,  induced  us 
to  take  the  shorter  Catechism  into  the  pulpit,  as 
our  text  book,  instead  of  the  word  of  God. 
Knowing  all  this,  and  after  having  been  beguil- 
ed into  an  act  so  presumptuous,  is  it  any  matter 
of  wonder  that  we  should  have  lost  our  respect 
for  all  these  ecclesiastical  instruments."^  Or  is 
it  surprising,  if,  feeling  ourselves  called,  we 
should  betray  zeal  enough,  "to  throw  down  the 

*  Miller's  L;:(;tnre.  p.  69- 


184 

altar  of  Baal,  cut  away  the  gi'ove  tliat  is  by  it, 
and  build  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  upon  the  top 
of  the  rock,  in  the  ordered  place^''?  And  what 
if  we  be  but  few  in  number,  like  "Gideon's 
three  hundred  men  approaching  the  host  of  Mi- 
dian?"  what  if  our  opposition  be  feeble,  and 
our  weapons  as  disproportioned  to  our  enter- 
prise, as  Gideon's  trumpet,  and  pitcher,  and 
lamp  f— if  we  have  truth.,  then  truth  must  over- 
come; for  it  is  the  cause  which  the  great  Medi- 
ator has  undertaken  to  manage.  And  if  we  have 
not  truth,  we  wish  not  to  prosper  in  our  error. 
On  these  terms,  we  suspend  the  whole  matter, 
which  Ave  have  been  summoned  so  early  to  de- 
fend; not  at  all  wishing  to  contend  with  our 
brethren,  but  seeking  the  good  of  Jerusalem. 


SECTION  3. 


Our  second  principle  is — That  tlie  Bible  being 
the  ivord  of  God^  it  must  necesscmly  be  preciselij 
suited  to  human  beings  as  sinful  and  fallen;  and 
therefore  it  embraees  in  its  provisions  all  thai  is 
jyeculiar.,  either  in  tJieir  character  or  condition. 

The  w^hole  Bible  is  full  of  the  finest  descrip- 
tions of  human  life;  and  these  are  drawn  with 
the  most  considerate  hands,  and  the  most  deli- 
cate pencil.  The  scriptures  are  every  where 
the  language  of  mercy  to  poor,  perishing,  sin- 
ners, who  cry  for  help,   and  whom  fallen  spirits 


185 

revile,  while  holy  angels  may  weep  in  silence. 
God  alone  can  help,  and  every  allchiia  that  a 
redeemed  world  can  utter,  is  due  to  him.  Let 
hiin  define  our  sin;  let  him  declare  our  desert; 
let  him  propose  a  remedy: — ^all  the  universe  be- 
side is  incompetent — we  want  no  angelic  com- 
mentator— we  want  no  hnman  guardianship — 
we  want  no  sectarian  aflfeclation — we  want  God's 
own  word  to  come  home  to  our  minds,  our  hearts, 
our  consciences,  our  business — and  we  ask  our 
parents,  our  friends,  our  ministers,  to  give  us  the 
li'ordof  God.     Surely  tliis  is  reasonable. 

And  what  is  this  Bible  for  W'hich  we  plead  so 
ardently.''  It  is  not  merely  a  high^wrought  eulogy 
upon  the  character  of  Jehovah :  but  it  is  his  con- 
descension to  men  upon  earth.  It  is  not  a  stern 
display  of  abstract  righteousness;  but  it  is  the 
mingling  together  of  justice  and  peace,  of  mercy 
and  tiuth .  It  is  not  the  impracticable  requisition 
of  absolute  purity,  made  wilh  an  unpitying  eye 
and  an  oppressive  hand;  but  it  is  the  proclama- 
tiv)n  of  "-the  righteousness  of  faith,"  that  glori- 
ous principle,  of  which  angels  and  the  redeemed 
shall  talk  together  throughout  eternity.  It  is 
not  the  statute  of  an  indescribable  sovereignty, 
which  no  prayer  can  relax,  and  which  no  tears  can 
soften;  but  it  is  the  opening  of  the  prison  doors; 
it  is  a  universal  call,  it  is  an  indiscriminate 
overture; — whosoever  w^ill,  may  come;  and  who- 
soever Cometh  shall  in  no  wise  be  cast  out;  and 
all  its  agents  act  upon  its  owai  liberal  commis- 
sion— "The    spirit   and  the   bride  say,    come. 

16* 


186 

And  let  him  that  heareth,  say,  come.  And  let 
him  that  is  athirst,  come.  And  whosoever 
will,  let  him  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely." 
None  of  our  Calvinistic  brethren,  as  they  may 
be  pleased  to  denominate  themselves,  will  halt 
at  the  foregoing  statement.  If  they  do,  let  them 
pause  and  reflect,  whether,  under  the  guise  of 
Calvinism,  they  have  not  sunk  into  a  system  of 
the  most  haughty,  joyles,  and  chilling  fatalism? 
Again,  the  Bible  is  intended  to  be  a  system  of 
practical  morals.  It  reveals  not  doctrines  for 
the  sake  of  doctrine,  but  as  tliey  may  serve  to 
fulfil  practical  purposes:  or,  it  never  was  design- 
ed to  establish  theory  independent  of  practice. 
God  did  not  send  his  only  begotten  son  into  our 
worlds,  merely  to  display  the  brightness  of  his 
glory;  he  veiled  all  that  glory,  that  men  might 
look  at  it;  and  sent  his  son  "in  the  likeness  of 
sinful  flesh,"  that  men,  whose  moral  perceptions 
were  very  low  by  reason  of  "the  weakness  of  the 
flesh,"  might  have  an  "express  image  of  his 
person,"  which  they  could  adore  with  a  degree 
of  intelligence,  consistent  with  their  infirmities. 
The  Holy  Spirit  has  not  come  down  merely  to 
astonish  by  his  own  mysterious  movements ;  his 
official  work  is  to  build  up  a  temple  on  earth 
for  the  habitation  of  God: — a  spiritual  house, 
resting  on  Jesus  as  a  living  stone,  and  into 
which  he  inserts,  as  living  stones,  all  whom  he 
sanctifies.  The  gospel,  even  when  angels  have 
tuned  their  harps  to  its  lofty  strains,  is  not  sim- 
ply glory  to  God  in  the  highest;  but  it  is  peace 
on  earth,  and  good  will  towards  men.     The 


xvliole  is  a  scheme  of  redemption  for  sinners; 
who,  suifering  under  the  curse  of  a  broken  law, 
are  incapable  of  relieving  themselves;  and  who, 
in  whatever  circumstances  they  may  be  found, 
are  accountable  to  him  who  made  them,  and 
nmst  stand  or  fall  on  the  principle  of  their  own 
responsibility.  The  best  way  to  promote  the 
good  of  man,  consistently  with  his  circumstances 
as  a  fallen,  helpless  being,  is  the  great  object, 
which  the  Bible  desires  to  accomplish.  Not 
only  is  truth  to  be  declared ;  but  it  must  be 
so  declared,  that  miserable  man  may  understand, 
and  make  a  speedy,  instantaneous,  death  bed, 
and  protitable  use  of  it.  Not  orily  must  Christ 
die  to  exhibit  God''s  aversion  to  sin;  but  he  suf- 
fers for  the  personal  benefit  of  the  sinner; — he 
died  that  we  might  live;  he  died  the  just  for  the 
unjust,  that  he  might  bring  lis  to  God;  his  whole 
work  was  characterised  by  its  reference  to  law, 
under  which  we  are  placed;  and  was  finished, 
that  he  might  bring  in  the  righteousness  of  faith, 
to  be  unlo  all  and  upon  all  them,  that  believe. — 
O,  surely  the  Bible  was  suited  to  us  poor  sinners; 
is  entirely  proportioned  to  our  capacities.^  whose 
advantage  it  proposes  to  secure;  and  the  best 
m(^n  which  the  church  can  produce,  are  unable 
to  frame  any  thing  like  it.  Men.'' — There  are  a 
thousand  combinations  which  they  do  not  under- 
stand; a  thousand  spiritual  dtilicacies  belonging 
to  our  personal  communion  with  Jehovah,  which 
they  cannot  appreciate;  and  a  thousand  occur- 
rences, which  must  be  reserved  for  the  disclo- 
sures of  the  last  day. 


188 

Again.  The  simplicity  of  tbe  Bible,  or  its 
happy  adaptation  to  the  circumstaDces  of  man- 
kind, is  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  its 
divine  original.  That  the  blind  should  receive 
their  sight  and  the  lame  walk,  that  the  lepers 
should  be  cleansed  and  the  deaf  hear,  and  that 
the  dead  should  be  raised  up,  form  an  irresistible 
demonstration  in  favour  of  a)iy  thing  they  can  be 
brought  to  prove;  but  when  the  Redeemer  stat- 
ed all  these  things  in  testimony  of  his  own  pre- 
tensions, he  did  not  think  the  train  of  evidence 
complete,  and  added — the  poor  have  the  s^nspel 
iweuched  to  them.  The  heavenly  virions  which 
he  had  seen  with  his  Father,  and  the  particulars 
of  which  he  came  down  from  heaven  to  reveal 
on  earth,  are  made  plain  and  distinct  to  the  htunan 
mind; — level  to  the  comprehension,  not  only  of 
the  divine,  the  philosopher,  and  the  scholar,  but 
of  the  POOR.  They  are  like  Habakkuk's  mes- 
sage, made  plain  upon  tables,  so  that  he  who 
runs  may  read.  It  is  this  very  thing  which  re- 
veals the  author  of  the  Bible  with  peculiar  glory: 
for  infinite  wisdom  is  ever  displayed  by  the 
perfect  adaptation  (jf  means  to  an  end.  Instead 
then  of  needing  any  of  those  perplexing  sum- 
maries, which  different  religious  denomiiiations 
have  given  us,  as  the  product  of  their  own  wis- 
dom, ihe  Bible,  by  its  own  plainness,  evinces  its 
own  perfection,  and  recommends  itself  to  the 
most  uninformed,  as  a  sure  guide  to  everlast- 
ing life.  If  in  it  ''there  are  depths  where  an 
elephant  might  swim,"  there  are  in  it  also, 
"shoals  where  a  lamb  may  wade."     If  it  ad- 


189 

ministers  strong  meat  to  those  who  are  of  full 
age,  it  serves  the  babe  with  milk.  If  it  pi-escribes 
perfection  to  its  reader,  it  begins  by  communi- 
cating first  principles;  and  he  who  has  learned 
rightly  to  divide  it,  has  learned  how  to  give 
to  each  his  portion  of  meat  in  due  season. 

And  what,  we  ask,  would  become  of  the  mass 
of  mankind;  what  of  the  majority  of  profess- 
ing christians;  what  of  our  children,  whose  very 
praise  in  the  presence  of  the  Redeemer  may  be, 
that  from  childhood  they  knew  the  holy  scrip- 
tures which  are  capable  to  make  even  tliem  ivise 
unto  salvation^  if  the  Bible  was  not  thus  modi- 
fied to  meet  the  imbecility  of  human  powers? 
How  can  society  be  governed  by  it  as  the  law  of 
Jehovah,  if  it  be  not  minutely  applicable  to  the 
circumstances  of  society.'^  How  can  any  man 
become  adequate  to  judge  of  the  varieties  of  his 
own  earthly  condition,  if  it  be  above  his  com- 
prehension.^ Or  how  shall  he  cheerfully  sustain 
his  own  responsibilities,  if  what  Paul  has  said, 
be  not  true ; — "all  scripture  is  given  by  inspira- 
tion of  God,  and  is  profitable  tor  doctrine^  for 
reproofs  for  correction^  for  histruction  in  righte- 
oiisnesa^  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  peifect, 
throughly  furnished  unto  all  good  icorksV  Or 
what  can  christians  expect  to  accomplish  by 
sending  the  Bible  without  note  or  comment  to 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth.'^ — It  is  manifest  that 
the  scriptures  must  be  plain  to  the  hun)an  mind, 
or  they  can  be  of  no  use  to  the  poor;  and  the  mass 
of  mankind  could  have  no  divine  book  which 
they  can  profitably  read.    It  must  be  a  volume 


190 

suited  to  the  illiterate  and  the  busy,  the  bond 
and  the  free;  fitted  to  the  tottering  old  man, 
bowed  down  with  years,  who  has  no  time  to 
waste  on  our  speculations,  and  to  the  young 
child  that  cannot  comprehend  them.  It  must 
be  a  book  which  the  mother  can  explain  to  her 
little  ones,  and  from  which  the  fatlier  can  read  to 
them,  under  the  sanctions  of  divine  authority, 
a  morning  and  evening  lesson.  Say  it  is  other- 
wise, and  then  the  fact,  that  to  the  poor  the  gos-  - 
pel  is  preached,  is  no  longer  a  proof  of  the  divine 
authenticity  of  the  scriptures,  seeing  they  can- 
not be  put  to  that  use  as  a  system  of  moral 
truths.  To  them  its  page  is  unintelligible;  its 
very  doctrines-  mysterious;  its  propositions 
Unformed;  its  promises  irrelevant;  and,  by  a  re- 
ference to  a  human  Creed,  imposed  upon  them 
as  the  meaning  of  the  scriptures,  tfieir  faith  must 
stand  in  tlie  wisdom  of  man. 

Once  more.  It  would  appear,  that  the  great 
pre  requisite  to  a  profitable  reading  and  a  correct 
understanding  of  the  Bible,  is  to  possess  a 
teachable  disposition;  a  moral  quality,  for  which, 
in  scripture  story,  we  know  that  wise  men  and 
philosophers  have  never  been  much  famed. 
''Verily  I  say  unto  you,"  declared  the  Redeemer, 
"except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  '  Paul  also,  adapting  his  instructions 
to  such  a  disposition,  addressed  himself  in  like 
manner  to  the  Corinthians: — "My  speech,  and 
my  preaching,  was  not  with  enticing  words  of 
man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spi- 


191 

lit  and  of  power  "     The  Master  and  his  disci^ 
pies,  it  would  seem,  met  with  the  same  difficulty 
in  their  preaching;  took  the  same  view  of  human 
responsibilities;   and  alike   sought  to  relieve  the 
embarrassments   in  which  the  human  mind  had 
been  involved  by  its  own  conceited  ideas  of  it- 
self.    The  one  tells  us  of  divine  things  "hidden 
from    the  wise  and  pradent,  and  revealed  unto 
babes  ;*"  and  the  other,  that  "not  many  wise  men 
after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  no- 
ble," were  called.     In  fact  it  would  seem    as  if 
the  great  Head  of  the   church  was  at  a  loss  to 
find  any  moral  materials  among  these  classes   of 
mankind,  who  arc  so  uniformly  discarded;  and 
forsaking  them,  as  having  become  foolish  by  their 
own  trains  of  reasoning,  he  retired  to  the  hum- 
bler walks  of  human  life,  where  he  might  select 
men  of  better  intellectual  character.     The  one 
had  been  "spoiled   through  philosophy  and  vain 
deceit,   after  the   tradition  of  men:''''  they  had 
reached  their   pinnacle,  and  they  wished  for  no 
change;    or,    if  they  could  have  imagined  such 
a    thing,  that  "a  stone  cut    out  of  the  moun- 
tain  without    hands"    might  become    "a    great 
mountain  and  fill    the  whole  earth,"  and   have 
yielded    to  necessity,  they   might  only,  chame- 
lion   like,  have  changed  their  colour,  and  then 
we  should  still  have  had  human,  philosophical, 
systems  instead  of  the  Bible.     The  other  came 
forth  from  obscurity   itself;   knowing  little,  and 
less   known ;  they  had  no   pretensions  of  their 
own,  and   no  systems    to   make;  they    therefore 
'Hvaited  patiently  for  the  Lord,"  and,  under  the 


192  ^ 

direction  of  thft  Holy  Spirit,  who  can  commit 
no  mistakes,  they  said  what  they  had  to  say,  and 
wrote  what  they  had  to  write.  The  history  of 
mankind  may  perhaps  afford  many  analogous 
cases. 

This  view  of  our  subject,  is  not  only  true  in 
relation  to  the  original  consJitution  of  the  New 
Testament  ministry,  but  also  in  regard  of  the 
whole  extended  platform  of  the  christian  church. 
Preachers  and  tlieir  hearers  must  alike  be  hum- 
ble, teachable,  men.  The  pride  of  learning, 
the  pride  of  intellect,  the  pride  of  acute,  philo- 
sophical, reasoning,  may  make  the  mind  of  a 
lay-man  as  impervious  to  a  moral  argument,  as 
that  of  the  most  learned  bishop  in  the  whole 
church  Who  ever  saw  an  humble  christian, 
with  a  teachable  disposition,  studying  his  Bible, 
and  praying  over  it,  that  did  not  derive  from  it 
every  thing  that  was  necessary  to  spiritual  living, 
in  the  circumstances  in  which  God  placed  him.'' 
Ah(\  who  ever  saw  a  professor,  neglecting  his 
Bible,  and  glorying  in  his  literary  attainments, 
or  conducting  a  theological  argument  upon  phi- 
losophical, rather  than  upon  scriptural  principles, 
w!  o  did  not  perplex  both  himself  and  others.^ 
These  things  are  so  common,  that  it  must  be 
useless  to  enlarge  upon  them;  every  one  must 
know  how  that  n)an  necessardy  grows,  who  con- 
scientiously and  prayerfully  studies  the  subject- 
maiter  of  the  Bible  for  himself,  and  suffers  no 
man  to  interrupt  communion  between  God  and 
his  own  soul. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  in  confirmation  of 


193 

what  has  ah'oady  been  said,  that  the  Bible  was 
not  given  all  at  once;  but  was  penned  at  differ- 
ent periods;  and   was  accommodated  to  society, 
as  progressing  from  infancy  to  manhood.  "God, 
at  sundry    times  and  in  divers  manners,    spake 
in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets;" 
but  he  "hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us 
by  his   son."     During  the  dispensation    under 
which  the  patriarchs  live<l,  promises,  prophecies, 
precepts,   institutions,   were   liberally  afforded; 
yet  they  appear  to  have   been  a  good  deal  de- 
tached  from  each  other;  or  they  were  gathered 
together  by  the  slow  and  feeble   process  of  hu- 
man thought,  elicited   by  limited  opportunities, 
and  guided  by  insufficient  tradition.     Thus  Mel- 
chizedeck  was   priest  of  the  Most  High   God; 
wiide  Abraham,   called  from  the  land  of  his  fa- 
thers, was  constituted,  under  a  beautiful  cove- 
nant relation,  the  father  of  the   faithful.     The 
circumstance  of  their  meeting  after  "the  slaught- 
er of  the  kings,"  which  has  since  formed  so  ini- 
por?<mt  a  paragraph  in  scripture  history,  was  not 
an  occiuTence  transpiring  under  any  ecclesiasti- 
cal ri^liitions,  so  far  as  we  know,  but  was — shall 
we  say  it — purely  accidental,  or — it  may  be  bet- 
ter, providential.      It  was  one  of  those  events, 
whose   importance   is  not  suspected  at  the  time 
they  take   place,  and  which   Divine  Providence 
consecrates  as  most  efficient  agents  to  accomplish 
his  own  purposes; — the  whole  story  had  well  nigh 
been  forgotten  altogetiier.   Arid  Paul,  when  he  is 
reasoning  on  tiie   subject,  views  the  priesthood 

17 


194 

©f  Melchizedeck  as  entirely  detached  from  tliat 
of  Aaron;  as  constructed  on  very  diti'erent  prin- 
ciples; as  holding  its  own  individual  relations  to 
the  coming  of  Messiah;  and  as  uniting  at  last 
with  ihe  Aaronic  order  in  the  persun  of  Clirist, — 
a  parallel,  kindred  institution,  conveying  a  truth, 
which  the  ceremonial  law  did  not  express  in  the 
same  way. 

Afterwards,  when  Moses  came  as  a  special 
apostle,  his  whole  law  was  an  assemblage  of 
types,  suited  to  the  moral  apprehensions  of  the 
times;  was  fitted  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
church,  during  the  period  of  her  non-age;  and 
was  accompanied  by  a  legislative  policy,  which 
adapted  its  statutes  to  the  political  relations,  the 
geographical  position,  the  historical  facts,  the 
insulated  privileges,  and  the  limited  morality,  of 
the  Jewish  nation.  Many  of  the  laws  of  Mo- 
ses cannot  else  be  explained;  nor  can  their  moral 
consistency  be  otherwise  seen.  Accordingly, 
when  the  church  had  arrived  at  full  age,  she 
needed  soraethinp;  more  than  the  instructions, 
which  the  tutor  of  her  infantile  years  could  give 
her.  The  Mosaic  law  was  therefore  abrogated, 
and  the  son  of  God  appeared,  '-the  brightness  of 
the  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image  cf  his 
person ." 

The  great  teacher  himself,  when  he  came  in 
the  flesh  to  fulfd  his  own  high  obligations,  was 
very  considerate  of  the  infirmities  of  his  dis- 
ciples, and  hesitated  to  tell  them  many  things 
which  he  had  to  communicate,  because  they 
were   "not  able  to  bear  them."      And  when  he 


195 

Iraiisaiittcd  olticial  power  to  tije'U,  he  required 
tliem  totiiake  the  then  present  situation  of  human 
things,  a  matter  of  their  special  consideration. 
Ho  commands  them  to  begin  the  discharge  of 
their  official  duties  at  Jerusalem:  an  injunction, 
which  cannot  fail  to  remind  the  reader  of  the 
peculiarity  of  the  times,  the  relation  of  the  Jews 
to  the  administration  of  evangelical  ordinances, 
and  the  unfortunate  alienation  of  the  Gentiles 
from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel.  The  apostles 
scrupulously  obeyed  their  Master's  order.  They 
went  forth  preaching  the  gospel  every  v/here; 
they  assembled  and  organized  churches;  they 
ordained  elders  in  every  city,  and  waited  patient- 
ly the  result  of  the  evangelical  experiment. 
They  did  not  convene  in  ecclesiastical  council, 
to  frame  the  New  Testament  for  the  regulation 
of  the  church.  Their  capacity  to  do  this  would 
have  unveiled  a  larger  combination  of  spiritual 
gifts,  than  their  subsequent  history  exhibited; 
and  vvould  have  distinguished  them  by  pa  vers 
of  thought,  and  a  range  of  political  observation, 
al  ogether  disproportioned  to  their  conduct  in 
relation  to  the  Gentiles,  and  to  the  discussions 
in  winch  they  engaged  in  Jerusalem.  In  a  con- 
vention of  such  sinofular  construction,  it  seems 
to  us  that  human  agency  would  have  been  en- 
tirely lost  in  a  supernatural  interference;  these 
men  would  have  possessed  the  foresiglit  of  om- 
niscience, and  their  glance  would  have  been  that 
of  omnipresence;  the  whole  New  Testament 
would  have  been  the  production  of  prophecy; 
and  we  should   have  lost  one  of  the  finest  ex- 


196 

dimples,  which  have  occurred  in  the  history  of 
God^s  moral  government,  to  sho\\  that  God 
makes  no  waste  of  means,  but  that  he  operates 
by  the  instrumentahty  of  human  nature,  acting 
on  its  own  principles.  The  apostles  never 
thought  of  making  a  "form  of  sound  woixls," 
like  one  of  our  Creeds.  When  they  recorded, 
or  discussed  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  in  wri- 
ting, they  appeared  singly;  and  every  line  of  the 
New  Testament  rests  its  claim  to  our  attention, 
not  upon  the  authority  of  an  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cil, but  upon  the  direct  inspiration  of  God. 

The  fact,  as  it  is  a  matter  of  scripture  history^ 
is  as  follows.  By  the  preaching  of  the  apostles, 
and  their  unwearied  efforts  in  itinerating,  to  erect 
church  associations,  truth  was  brought  into  col- 
lision with  the  various  habits  of  society.  It  met 
with  men  in  opposite  conditions  of  life;  it  was 
subjected  to  sevej-e  investigation,  by  men  of  vari- 
ous modes  of  thinking;  and  its  messengers  were 
incessantly  catechised  by  individuals  of  very  dif- 
crent  classes  of  mind,  propounding  questions,  ac- 
cording to  the  vigour  or  feebleness  of  their  own 
conceptions.  Inquiries,  in  great  variety,  ai'e 
started  in  every  section  of  the  church.  Then 
one  part  of  the  New  Testament  was  written  by 
one  apostle,  to  afford,  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  an  inspired  answer  to  the 
moral  problems  which  grew  up  in  the  sphere  in 
which  he  moved ;  and  another  part  is  written  by 
another  apostle,  to  meet  the  difficulties  originat- 
ing in  the  circle  of  his  labours.  The  applica- 
i'wn  of  truth  to  society   suggested  the  inquiries, 


197 

and  has  given  to  scriptural  exhortation  its  mul- 
tilorai  appearance.  Thus  have  been  put  into  our 
hands,  as  the  subject  matter  of  new  inspired 
records,  the  facts,  principles,  doctrines,  promises, 
and  prophecies,  belonging  to  the  measure  of  reve- 
lation, vvhicli  the  new  dispensation  affords. — 
Truth  is  exhibited  as  it  is  seen  to  bear  on  the 
actual  operations  of  the  human  mind ;  or  as  it 
is  illustrated  in  its  palpable  connexion  w^ith  the 
circumstances  of  men  as  they  are.  The  apos- 
tles were  not  system  makers:  but  as  the  gospel 
was  to  be  preached  to  tfie  poo}\  they  became 
writers  for  tlie  jjoor;  adopted  the  most  familiaF 
illustrations;  and  associated  doctrine  w'lih  fact^ 
as  tlie  best,  most  popular,  and  most  effectual 
mode  of  instruction. 

We  have  no  intention  of  denying  that  there  are 
trains  of  close,  doctrinal,  reasonings  in  the  scrip- 
tures. Facts  are  too  plain  and  luminous  to  admit 
such  an  idea.  The  epistles  of  Paul  are  in  some  in- 
stances exceedingly  dense;  so  much  so,  that  even 
Peler  tells  us,  that  there  are  '-some  things  in  his 
epistles  hard  to  be  understood,  which  they  that 
are  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do 
also  the  other  scriptures,  unto  their  own  destruc- 
tion." But  that  forms  no  reason  why  we  should 
involve  the  whole  matter  of  religion  in  more 
perplexed  argument,  and  make  simple  things 
more  dilficult  than  they  arc.  Paul  was  called 
to  fulfil  a  particular  purpose,  and  to  engage  in 
services,  from  which  the  others  seem  to  have  been 
exempted,     ills  province  appears  to  have  been, 

17* 


i9S 

to  settle  the  great  controversies  of  his  age,  when 
the  church  was  passing  from  under  the  long 
established  peculiarities  of  one  dispensation,  to 
sustain  tiie  responsibilities  of  another,  which  had 
not  yet  been  fully  developed.  And  w^e  really 
think  that  the  principles  of  moral  obligation,  and 
ecclesiastical  ordej-,  have  been  suificiently  can- 
vassed by  him,  if  we  could  only  prevail  upon 
ourselves  to  be  satisfied  w  ith  what  he  has  done. 
But  if  we  gather  confidence  from  his  example, 
and  forget  that  he  was  an  inspired  man,  for 
whose  gifts  our  literature  can  invent  no  paraiiel, 
we  may  strike  out  into  discussions,  that  will 
make  us  as  troublesome  as  ever  Origen  was, 
and  give  to  the  next  age,  abundant  difficulty,  to 
ascertain  what  we  believe  in  this  age. — More- 
over, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  all  the  argu- 
ments of  this  beloved  apostle,  were  the  result 
of  the  application  of  tjuth  to  society;  which 
result,  so  far  as  the  spirit  of  truth,  when  clos- 
ing the  canon  of  scripture,  is  pleased  to  declare 
it,  must  be  the  same  in  all  ages;  and  that,  of 
course,  he  has  by  his  writings,  decided  the  sub- 
jects on  which  he  wrote  once  for  all.  Can  any 
man,  however  acute  he  may  be,  offer  an  argu- 
ment against  the  righteousness  of  faith,  as  the 
great  principle  of  God's  government  in  t!.e 
world,  w^hich  he  has  not  answered?  Can  any 
man  feel  himself  perplexed,  by  an  appeal  from 
a  Jew  on  the  subject  of  external  church  order, 
after  understanding  his  explanations?  There 
were  some  doctrinal  points  on  which  Jehovah 
thought  proper  to  reason  with  the  world,  and 


199 

he  called  Paul  to  do  it.  He  lias  done  it  under 
the  dii-ection  ol  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  let  every 
man  listen  to  what  he  has  to  say.  Yet  after  all, 
when  due  consideration  is  given  to  the  nature  of 
the  work,  in  which  this  Apostle  was  engaged, 
the  reader  never  examined  a  writer  who  hasten- 
ed more  rapidly  to  his  practical  conclusions,  or 
wiio  interrupted  his  argument  more  frequently 
by  digressions,  which  exhorted  to  practical  holi- 
ness. Paul,  the  best  gifted  man  for  such  a  pur- 
pose that  ever  lived,  never  prepared  an  abstruse 
manual  like  our  shorter  catechism.  He  has 
gone  to  his  rest  without  bequeathing  to  the 
church  the  troublesome  legacy  of  a  human 
Creed,  or  such  a  piece  of  distracting  legislation 
as  a  Confession,  which  we,  by  a  complete  mis- 
nomer, call  a  summary  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Scriptures.  We  heartily  wish,  that  wise  divines, 
who  lived  after  hiin,  had  imitated  his  example. 
Now,  if  we  have  fairly  represented  the  scrip- 
tures,— and  we  certainly  did  intend  to  give  a 
faithful  representation  of  them — if  they  really 
form  a  plain  and  simple  revelation  of  truth  from 
God  himself,  what  other  book  or  books  can  we 
want  for  the  direction  of  the  human  conscience? 
How  can  any  theologian  tell  us,  tliat  if  we  have 
nothing  else  than  the  Bible  to  regulate  us,  then 
anarchy  and  confusion,  discord  and  strife,  must 
necessarily  follow.^  What  room  is  there  for 
conte-it,  where  every  thing  is  plain  and  perspicu- 
ous.'^ If  "-nothing  more  is  necessary,  to  enable 
a  simple,  unlettered  man,  to  read  the  word  of 
God,  with  intelligence  and  profit,  than  common 


200' 

sense,  accompanied  with  an  humble  and  teacha- 
ble disposition,'  how  is  it,  that  with  a  law  of 
such  sensible  excellence,  the  church  cannot 
pass  up  through  this  wilderness  in  harmony  and 
love ;  but  must  present  to  every  beholder  a  '•'•mis- 
erable Babel,"  instead  ofthat  beautiful  city,  which 
God  hath  so  magnificently  adorned?  Can  the 
thing  be  a  fad?  And  when  the  advocates  of 
Creeds  declare  that  such  consequences  must  fol- 
low, and  urge  them  upon  us  vvith  such  impas- 
sioned language  and  minute  detail,  can  they  pos- 
sibly be  right?  Let  the  reader  review  again  the 
premises,  and  ask  himself  seriously  whether  such 
a  conclusion  does  logically  follow? — For  our 
own  part,  we  have  often  been  not  a  little  start- 
led by  the  remarks  which  we  have  heard  upon 
this  subject,  and  have  been  very  much  surprised 
that  ministers  of  the  gospel  should  sutfer  them- 
selves to  speak  so  ^'untenderly  about  the  Bible:" — ■ 
for  if  their  Creed  will  create  harmony,  and  the 
Bible  produce  discord,  then  is  not  tiieir  Creed 
the  best  book  of  the  two? 

Perhaps  all  this  may  only  provoke  a  smile,  and 
we  shall  be  asked  what  is  the  fact  as  it  exists? 
Do  not  men  now  disagree  about  the  meaning  of 
scripture,  and  are  they  not  now  divided  into  re- 
ligious sects,  each  having  its  own  view  of  Bible 
doctrines?  We  admit  the  fact.  But  what  then? 
Is  this  dismemberment  of  Christ's  body,  the  na- 
tural result  of  being  governed  by  the  Bible  sim- 
ply; or  is  it  the  sin  of  those  who  are  engaged  in 
it,  and  which  the  scriptures  denominate  schism? 
If  it  be  the  natural  result,  then  it  cannot  be  sin: 


201 

if  it  be  sin,  then  it  cannot  be  the  natural  veHull: 
an- 1  if  it  be  the  natural  result,  and  not  sin,  then 
division,  contest,  strife,  wrath,  cannot  be  sin. — 
But  besides,  under  what  administration  has  this 
fact  occurred  ?  Under  the  simple  Bible,  sustain- 
mijX  its  authority  by  reaching  the  human  consci- 
ence in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  with 
power;  or  under  Creeds  and  Confessions,  im- 
pressed and  enforced  by  human  authority  ?  Did 
not  the  primitive  church,  simply  with  her  Bible, 
live  in  harmony,  and  maintain  the  unity  of  the 
church  with  a  zeal,  and  to  an  extent,  of  which 
we  cannot  boast?  And  now,  when  the  different 
churches  are  beginning  to  lay  aside  their  mutual 
hostilities,  is  it  not  because  our  Creeds  and 
Confessions  are  losing  their  influence,  and  chris- 
tians are  reverting  to  their  Bible?  What  then 
oan  our  brethren  mean,  by  ascribing  anarchy  and 
confusion  to  a  state  of  things  in  which  no  Creeds 
of  human  construction  should  exist,  but  where 
the  Bible  would  have  an  entire  sway?  Their 
Creeds  produce  the  confusion  and  strife  which 
perplex  the  church,  and  form  the  true  reason  of 
this  variety  of  doctrine  which  is  proclaimed. — 
Most  surely,  if  the  Bible  be  a  plain  book,  men 
may  understand  it;  and  if  it  be  a  difficult  book  to 
comprehend,  we  should  be  led  to  doubt  the  abili- 
ty of  our  wise  divines,  and  our  learned  assemb- 
lies, to  make  it  any  better,  from  the  simple  fact, 
that  tliey  have  produced  nothing  but  confusion 
and  strife,  by  their  authoritative  decisitnis. 

But  still  further; — if  Jehovah  in  litcd  tJieBible, 
and  intended  it  fur  such  beings  as  we  are,  it  is- 


202 

to  lie  presurned  that  he  made  it  just  what  it  ou^ht 
to  6i';  thai  he  presented  it  in  its  most  appropri- 
ate ybrm;  and  that  no  man,  nor  any  set  ot  men, 
can  frame  one  which  shall  be  better  adapted  to 
the  inlirmities  of  human  nature.  Surely,  no 
man  will  undertake  to  dispute  this:  or,  if  any 
one  could  be  found  thoughtless  enough  to  do  it> 
surely  the  church  would  not  receive  him,  when 
thus  trampling  under  foot  an  elemental  principle 
of  morals,  as  orthodox.  If  such  ideas  are  in  prac- 
tical force,  while  theoretically  denied,  we  beg; 
leave  to  enter  our  most  unreserved  protest,  and 
to  inform  our  readers,  that  we  think  them  quite 
as  heretical  as  the  denial  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  scriptures.  Most  certairdy,  he  who  knows 
the  secret  thoughts  of  human  hearts,  who  sees 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient 
times  the  things  that  are  not  yet  done,  needs  no 
counsellor,  from  among  the  sons  of  men,  to  as- 
sist him  in  constructing  an  evangelical  law. 
The  whole  gospel  is  his  own  divine  contrivance, 
something  too  sublime  to  fall  within  the  range 
of  human  thought;  too  perfect  and  consistent,  to 
be  criticised  by  human  wisdom;  and  too  circum- 
stantial not  to  be  applied  to  every  human  occur- 
rence. 

If  then  we  are  right  in  saying,  that  God  has 
in  the  Bible  given  us  moral  ti'uth  in  the  best 
form  it  could  wear,  considering  the  character  of 
the  beings  for  whom  it  has  been  prepared, — and 
who  can  say  we  are  not  riglit.'' — then,  under 
what  principle  have  synods  and  councils  under- 
taken to  alter  that  form?    For  our  Creeds  and 


Confessions  of  faith  do  fake  the  tnifh  which  God 
has  revealed  oid  of  its  scriptural  connemoHs; 
and  they  do  modifij  it  accordhv^  to  the  concep- 
tions of  the  men  icho  make  them,  or  the  prejudi- 
ces and  feelings  of  the  age  xchich  creates  and  en- 
forces them .  And  why  do  t  hey  this  ?  It  certainly 
becomes  them  to  give  the  best  of  all  reasons  for 
so  eccentric  an  adventure.  Can  tiiey  make  truth 
more  tangible?  Have  they  the  promise  of  the 
spirit  to  superintend  their  deliberations,  when 
they  undertake  to  revise  and  correct  God's  insti- 
tutions? Have  they  any  divine  promise  to  guar- 
anty a  good  result?  Or  do  they  suppose,  tliat 
they  have  a  sutficient  warrant  to  take  such  a 
step,  from  the  fact  that  they  have  a  sectarian  ob- 
ject to  accomplish,  or  that  the  interest  of  a  vo- 
luntary  association  may  require  it?  Then  they 
must  remember,  that  they  have  the  very  same 
ar<^ument  to  me{?t  in  application  to  these  volun- 
tary associations;  and  to  justify  themselves  for 
so  dividing  the  church  of  the  living  God,  and 
altering  her  external  form.  And  we  really  do 
not  wonder  that  these  two  things  are  put  togeth- 
er; for  as  Paul  argues  with  the  Hebrews  —"The 
priesthood  being  changed,  there  is  made  of  ne 
cessity  a  change  also  of  the  law." 

But  perhaps  it  may  be  denied,  that  our  Creeds 
do  alter  the  fjrm  in  which  truth  is  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  conscience.  We  must  then  make 
our  assertion  good.  Are  not  our  (.Veeds  |>i-o- 
fessed  summaries?  And  what  is  a  suirhnary?  Is 
it  the  same  thing  with  that  which  it  abri-iges,  or 
is   it   a   dillerent   thing?     If  the  original  and 


204. 

the  abstract  be  drawn  out  by  different  hancls, 
will  they  present  the  same  intellectual  inri<;e? 
Is  this  summary  needed?  Did  the  master  give 
us  one,  or  empower  us  to  make  one,  because 
his  Bible  was  a  deficient  instrument  of  opera- 
tion upon  the  human  spirit?  Every  man  at  a 
glance  may  perceive  that  he  has  not  framed  the 
scriptures  upon  the  same  principle  on  which  our 
theological  systems  are  constructed.  The  Bible 
is  not  a  collection  of  abstract  propositions,  sys- 
tematised  into  regular  or<!er,  nor  is  it  a  schedule 
of  difficult,  metaphysical  subjects,  arranged  un- 
der general  titles,  such  as,  the  attributes  of  God; 
the  divine  decrees;  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints,  &c.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  transcript 
of  social  transactions;  it  is  an  exhibition  of 
human  life;  it  is  that  species  of  composition 
which,  all  the  world  knows,  is  most  interesting 
to  the  mass  of  mankind.  It  is  true,  some  lofry 
speculators,  some  profound  thinkers,  who  are 
capable  to  reason  both  matter  and  spirit  out  of 
God's  creation,  might  prefer  a  volume  of  mental 
abstractions;  but  then  the  reader  must  remember, 
that  the  Bible  was  written  for  the  poor;  that 
it  was  intended  to  throw  a  beam  of  the  life 
that  shall  never  end  upon  the  infant  mind;  to 
cheer  the  humble,  the  lowly,  and  the  contrite 
spirit;  and,  while  the  dews  of  its  blessing  are 
falling  upon  the  dying  old  man,  to  stretch  the 
bow  of  the  covenant  of  grace  across  the  firma- 
ment of  truth,  that  his  closing  eyes  may  be 
opened  upon  the  cloudless  light  of  an  eternal 
day.     Had  such  an  epitome  or  compend  of  moral 


203 

truths,  as  our  Creed  profess  to  be,  been  the  best 
form  of  revelation  by  which  the  human  mind 
could  be  spiritually  enlig;htened,  doubtless  God 
himself  would  have  adopted  that  form:  for  he  de- 
clares, he  has  done  for  man,  all  that  he  could  do 
for  him;  and,  indeed,  he  has  too  much  pity  and 
compassion  for  this  fallen  child  of  his  love,  to 
leave  any  thing  undone  which  could  have  been 
done.  If  he  had  intended  to  write  a  book  for  a  race 
of  philosophers,  instead  ofrejectingsuch for  being 
wise  in  their  own  conceits;  and  if  philosophers 
really  know  liow  to  make  systems,  or  are  them- 
selves best  instructed  in  that  way,  doubtless  he 
would  have  given  them  his  revelation  in  a  more 
logical  form.  Most  certainly,  however,  he  has 
not  done  it;  and  the  inference  fairly  is,  that  our 
systems  are  constructed  on  false  views  of  human 
nai  ure,  or  that  our  Creeds  are  not  at  all  fitted 
for  man  in  his  present  state.  There  is  a  better 
way  of  teaching  mankind  the  science  of  morals: 
for  Jehovah  himself,  who  needs  liot  that  any 
should  tell  him  what  is  in  man,  has  adopted 
another  way.  Surely  we  may  safely  follow 
where  God  leads,  and  to  imitate  his  exampk, 
never  can  jeopard  the  prosperity  or  peace  of  his 
church. 

The  practical  result  of  our  Creeds  confirms 
our  argument.  Can  children  understand  the 
abstract  propositions  contained  in  the  shorter 
catechism.'*  Have  not  scientific  men  long  since 
learned  that  every  thing  must  be  simplified,  and 

18 


if  possible  illustrated  by  example^  in  order  to 
interest,  impress,  and  benefit  the  infantile  mind? 
Are  they  not  descending  from  th^ir  own  lofty 
eminence,  and^  taking  these  little  immortals  by 
the  hand, leading  them  up  step  by  step?  And 
shall  we  leave  their  moral  nature  uncultivated, 
or  fatigue  their  tender  spirits  by  the  incessant 
repetition  of  things  which  they  do  noi  under- 
stand? Are  our  grown  up  christians  better 
treated  by  this  system  of  perplexed  legislation? 
Do  not  these  Creeds  drag  away  the  christian 
mind  from  scriptural  exposition  to  dwell  upon 
polemic  propositions?  Do  they  not  make  it  ne- 
cessary for  us  to  contend  with  those  whom  we 
ought  to  love  ;and  even  to  divide  families  as  if  the 
husband  and  the  wife,  the  parent  and  the  child, 
worshipped  different  Gods?  Do  they  not  pre- 
sent truth  in  philosophical  forms,  about  which 
men  are  every  where  at  liberty  to  reason  accord- 
ing to  their  own  apprehensions?  Do  they  not 
teach  men  to  feel  comparatively  irresponsible 
about  religious  things,  because  they  consider 
themselves  to  be  reasoning  with  man  about  his 
notions^  and  not  with  God  against  his  institu- 
tions? Let  the  reader  judge  for  himself,  whether 
"we  do  not  recite  facts: — As  Cah  "'sts  we  al- 
most intuitively  shrink  a  way  from  ;■;  thought 
Arminians;  and  as  Arminians  w€  ':^qually 

frightened  by  a  charge  of  Calv  The  past 

age  has  made  a  controversy  heU .  een  these  two 
sets  of  opinions  exceedingly  popular,  and  our 
Creeds  have  served  to  perpetuate  the  strife!  He 
is  thougiit  to  be  a  clergyman  of  secondaiy  con- 


207 

sideration,  and  to  possess  talents  of  a  very  in- 
ferior order,  who  cannot  perspicuously  arrange, 
and  skilfully  discuss,  the  Jive  j)oinls: — wiiile,  on 
the  other  hand,  Whitby  and  the  Lime  street 
lectures  have  obtained  immortal  honour.  Neith- 
er party  seems  to  know  that  if  they  would 
cease  to  contend,  and  declare  what  they  are 
honestly  convinced  is  in  the  Bible,  they  would 
blend  in  most  perfect  harmony,  as  soon  as  long 
established  habits,  running  throughout  society, 
could  admit  so  happy  a  revolution.  But  they 
have  formed  their  opinions;  they  have  chosen 
their  theological  system ;  they  have  entered  into 
their  ecclesiastical  connexions;  and  of  all  things 
that  are  inimical  to  harmony,  these  voluntary 
associations  are  the  worst — because  by  them  all 
society  is  thrown  into  commotion.  It  is  really 
admirable  to  hear  how  controversialists,  belong- 
ing to  dififerent  voluntary  associations,  will  treat 
a  scripture  text  which  they  have  abstracted  from 
its  own  relations,  and  how  clearly  they  will  de- 
monstrate it  to  utter  their  own  opinions.  Who 
does  not  feel  some  concern,  when  ho  hears  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  endeavouring  to  establish 
a  doctrine,  which,  every  one  knows,  is  employed 
to  evolve  a  sectarian,  rather  than  a  scriptural 
principle.''  And  who,  that  has  even  thought 
dispassionately  upon  the  subject,  would  not  pre- 
fer to  have  the  Bible  explained  to  him  as  other 
thin»;s  are  explained^  than  hear  the  most  elo- 
quent  discussion  on  a  sectarian  tenet.''  Surely 
the  study  of  the  scriptures,  and  an  effort  to 
make  men  feel  truth   as  spoken  by  divine  wisj^ 


^0^ 

dom,  and  enforced  by  divine  authority,  would^ 
entirely  change  the  complexion  of  such  min- 
istrations; and  impel  the  human  mind  into  trains 
of  thinking,  and  habits  of  application  much  mor& 
spiritual  and  edifying.  We  say  again,  let  the 
reader  judge  for  himself;  the  whole  subject  is 
presented  to  him  in  real  life;  it  is  pressed  out  to 
its  very  extreme;  and  he  may  even  hear,  as  an 
argument  in  favour  of  theological  strife,  that 
division  is  necessary  to  unity. — A  lovely  para- 
dox! An  unexpected,  but  happy  union  of  con- 
traries! Its  framers  are  fairly  entitled  to  all  the 
credit  of  its  ingenuity.  We  dare  not  envy  them 
their  happy  talent  at  invention. 

Now,  most  assuredly,  if  these  things  be  so, 
and  we  believe  we  have  been  detailing  facts,  then 
the  practical  result  has  demonstrated,  that  hu- 
man Greeds  have  not  only  changed  the  form  in 
which  God  presented  his  own  truth  to  the  hu- 
man mind,  but  that  they  have  given  to  it  the 
2vorst  form,  seeing  such  consequences  are  pro- 
duced; that  the  whole  scheme  of  making  men 
think  precisely  alike  on  all  subjects,  or  on  any 
given  set  of  subjects,  is  perfectly  Utopian;  and 
that  in  "the  confuse  multitude  of  Creeds"  which 
clerical  ingenuity  has  produced,  our  learned 
theologians  have  been  cutting  another  "spear  of 
Achilles"  from  mount  Pelion,  or  heaping  Ossa 
upon  Pelion  in  rebellion  against  the  authority  of 
the  Head  of  the  church — for  by  their  Creeds 
they  have  divided  his  spiritual  empire.  We 
have  reached  bold  conclusions,  we  know;  but, 
be  it  remembered,  we  charjre  none  with  criniinaV 


209 

mtenlions;  our  brethren  we  believe  to  be  con- 
scieniious^  and  we  hope  they  will  show  them- 
selves honoiuable^  men — We  are  discussing  our 
subject  in  the  best  manner  we  know  how,  or 
think  ourselves  capable  of  executing. 

Our  general  idea  in  this  argument,  has  been 
most  happily  expressed  in  the  following  extract; 
which  we  copy  from  Erskine's- "remarks  on  the 
internal  evidence  for  the  truth  of  revealed  reli- 
gion;" a  work  which  we  much  esteem,  and 
wliich  has  been  highly  recommended  by  several 
of  our  Presbyterian  brethren,  v^'hose  signatures 
we  are  very  happy  to  recognise  as  the  pass  port 
of  such  sentiments  to  the  public  mind.  The 
writer  is  sitting  on  the  skirts  of  civil  magistra- 
cy, and  yet  hesitates  not  to  declare  what  he 
thinks,  on  a  subject,  which  is  all  important  even 
to  the  political  existence  of  the  country  in 
which  he  lives.     Mr   Erskinesays: 

^'Most  people  in  this  country,  and  probably 
even  the  majority  of  the  population  in  Europe, 
think  that  they  understand  Christianity;  and  yet 
a  very  small  proportion  of  them  have  read  the 
Bible  with  that  degree  of  ordinary  attention, 
which  they  bestow  upon  the  common  concerns 
of  life.  Their  ideas  on  this  subject,  are  derived 
almost  entirely  from  Creeds  and  catechisms,  and 
church  articles,  or  human  compositions  of  some 
kind.  The  evil  consequences  arising  from  this, 
are  most  grevious.  To  convince  ourselves  that 
they  arc  indeed  so,  to  a  high  degree,  we  have  only- 
to.  compare  the  two  methods. 

18* 


210 

•' In  the  Bible,  the  christian  doctrines  are 

always  stated  in  this  connexion:  They  stand 
as  indications  of  the  character  of  God,  and  as 
die  exciting  motives  of  a  corresponding  charac- 
ter in  man.  Forming  thus  the  connecting  link, 
between  the  character  of  the  Creator  and  the 
Creature,  they  possess  a  majesty  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  despise,  and  exhibit  a  form  of  con- 
sistency  and  truth,  which  it  is  difficult  to  dis- 
believe. Such  is  ckristianity  in  the  Bible;  but 
in  Creeds  and  church  articles.,  it  is  far  othenvise. 
These  tests  or  summaries,  originated  from  the 
introduction  of  doctrinal  errors  and  metaphysic- 
al speculations  into  religion;  and  in  consequence 
of  this,  they  are  not  so  much  intended  to  be  the 
repositories  of  truth,  as  barriers  against  the  en- 
croachment of  erroneous  opinions.  The  doc- 
trines contained  in  them  therefore  are  not  stated 
with  any  reference  to  their  great  object  in  the 
Bible, — the  regeneration  of  the  human  heart,  by 
the  knowledge  of  the  divine  character.  They  ap- 
pear as  detached  propositions,  indicating  no 
moral  cause,  and  pointing  to  no  moral  effect. 
They  do  not  look  to  God,  on  the  one  hand,  as 
their  source;  nor  to  man,  on  the  other,  as  the 
object  of  their  moral  urgency.  They  appear 
like  links  severed  from  the  chain  to  w-hich  they 
belonged;  and  thus,  they  lose  all  that  evidence 
which  arises  from  their  consistency,  and  all  that 
dignity  which  is  connected  with  their  high  de- 
sign."* 

*p.  78.  81, 


211 

These  are  fine  paragraphs.  They  are  writ- 
ten by  a  close  and  independent  thinker,  and  de- 
serve  most  serious  considtiration.  It  is  true,  he 
closes  the  last  of  them  by  remarking, — "I  do 
not  talk  of  the  propriety  or  impropriety  of 
having  church  articles,  but  of  the  evils  which 
spring  from  receiving  impressions  of  religion,, 
exclusively  or  chieily  from  this  source."  But 
certainly  the  candid  reader  may  see,  that  there 
are  few  men  who  could  have  said  more,  if  as 
much,  against  formularies  of  human  contrivance^ 
in  so  few  words.  For  if  they  make  Christianity 
a  different  thing  from  what  it  is  in  the  Bible, 
then  how  can  they  be  barriers  against  the  in- 
road of  errors  ?  Are  they  not  themselves,  the 
framers  of  the  most  grievous  errors,  uj  '•'■chang- 
ing the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God^''  and 
modifying  the  form  of  human  responsibility.'' 
If  their  doctrines  have  no  reference  to  the  great 
object  of  the  Bible, — the  regeneration  of  the 
human  heart  by  the  knowledge  of  the  divine 
character;  if  they  have  so  completely  usurped 
the  place  of  the  Bible,  that  the  majority  of  the 
population  in  Europe,  are  deriving  their  religious 
ideas  from  them,  without  giving  the  Bible  even 
a  decent  reading;  and  if,  in  their  original  pur- 
pose and  their  present  character,  they  are  al- 
together disproportioned  to  the  scheme  of  grace, 
and  in  their  tendency  have  so  dreadfully  poison- 
ed the  fountain  of  spiritual  living, — have  ti'ozen 
in  the  human  bosom  the  love  of  God  as  the 
moral  animation  of  the  immortal  spirit — what 
can  be  more  improper? — Such  is  the  effect  of 


212 

tiaking  divine  truth  out  of  its  scriptural  connex- 
ions^  and  presenting  it  in  forms  to  suit  tbe  the* 
ological  notions  and  religious  prejudices  of  any 
particular  age,  or  of  any  particular  class  of  man- 
kind. These  instruments  of  human  legislation, 
burst  asunder  the  heavenly  ties,  which  bind  men 
together,  and  convert  society  into  a  huge,  un- 
sightly, and  unformed  mass,  like  Nebuchiidnez-^ 
zar's  image,  whose  iron,  and  clay,  and  brass,  and 
silver,  and  gold,  shall  be  broken  to  pieces,  and 
become  like  the  chalf  of  the  summer  threshing, 
floors. 


SECTION  4. 


Our  third  general  principle  is — Thatthe  Saip- 
lures  have  expressed  their  most  pointed  disappro- 
bation ivith  all  human  institutions^  that  interfere 
ivith  tlie  supreme  autfiorify  of  God  over  tlie  hu- 
man conscience^  and  have  most  explicitly  irarned 
us  against  submitting  to  them. 

At  the  very  time  the  Messiah  made  his  ap- 
pearance, as  has  already  been  remarked,  the 
Jews  were  canvassing  the  question  whether  tJie 
tvritten  laiv  alone  was  of  divine  authority  The 
Pharisees,  w4io  formed  the  most  popular  sect  of 
the  day,  attached  a  very  great  deal  of  value  to 
the  traditions  which  had  been  handed  down  from 
their  fathers.  As  was  quite  natural,  the  scrip- 
tures  were  understood  to  declare  things  suited- 


2\d 

to  tlieir  traditionary  notions;  and  a  rule  of  iir- 
terpretation  was  adopted,  which  transplanted  the 
truth  from  out  of  its  scriptural  connexions,  and 
completely  perverted  the  public  mind.  They 
made  void  the  law  by  their  traditions;  their  per- 
ceptions became  too  obtuse  to  apprehend  moral 
principle;  they  grew  exceeding  fond  of  frivolous 
ceremonies;  and  thus  they  directed  and  confirm- 
ed the  prejudices  of  their  age.  In  this  dreadful 
course  of  moral  deterioration,  the  rulers  of  the 
Jews  took  the  lead  in  their  own  nation,  as  the 
philosophers  did  among  the  heathen.  They  had 
men  among  them  entirely  too  wise  to  live  in  this 
world  under  the  government  of  God;  they  could 
manage  matters  much  better  than  he  had  done; 
and  they  could  correct  his  mistakes,  and  supply 
his  deficiencies. — "Art  thou  a  Master  of  Israel, 
and  knowest  not  these  things.'*" 

The  Pharisees,  as  is  generally  the  case  under 
such  circumstances,  had  misinterpreted  the  scrip- 
tures. They  gave  the  most  degrading  represent- 
ations of  the  character  of  Messiah,  and  stamped 
the  ugly  symbol  of  their  own  authority  on  false 
moral  maxims.  They  had  sunk  into  the  greatest 
stupidity  on  spiritual  subjects,  and  were  utterly 
incapable  of  profiting  by,  or  even  at  all  estimat- 
ing, the  signs  of  their  own  times.  The  effort 
which  the  Redeemer  made  was  designed  to 
bring  them  back  to  the  scriptures  wdiich  they  had 
forsaken ;  and  to  teach  them  to  understand  divine 
tilings  as  they  had  been  revealed,  by  comparing 
spiritual  things  with  spiritual.  It  was  a  mighty 
experiment  to  revive  the  mond  judgment  of  a 


2H 

nation,  which  had  become  so  reprobate;  one  to© 
difficult  to  be  accomplished  by  human  hands, 
and  whose  success  must  await  the  passing  aw^ay 
of  a  whole  generation;  and  one,  which,  while 
w^e  are  at  liberty  to  reason  on  second  causes,, 
brought  him  to  the  cross,  and  the  whole  nation 
to  destruction.  Popular  prejudices  are  always 
hard  to  be  eradicated,  and  an  obliquity  of  moral 
view  is  never  easily  corrected,  either  in  an  indivi- 
dual oracommuni  y.  He  had,  therefore,  to  sustain 
many  a  fearful  onset,  and  meekly  to  endure  the 
most  virulentabuse.  "Many  of  them  said,  he  hath 
a  devil  and  is  mad;  why  hear  ye  him?"  And  even 
when  his  words  and  his  works  demonstrated  a 
divine  presence  with  him,  they  affected  a  great  deal 
of  regard  for  the  divine  glory,  and  yet  condemn- 
ed and  crucified  him. —  Hear  them;  "give  God 
the  praise,  we  know  that  this  man  is  a  sin- 
ner "  A  plain,  unsophisticated  mind,  could  rea- 
son,— "Why  herein  is  a  marvellous  thing,  that 
ye  know  not  from  whence  he  is,  and  yet  he  hath 
opened  mine  eyes.  Now  we  know  that  God 
heareth  not  sinners;  but  if  any  man  be  a  wor- 
shipper of  God,  and  doeth  his  will,  him  he  hear- 
eth. Since  the  world  began,  was  it  not  heard 
that  any  man  opened  the  eyes  of  one  that  was 
born  blind.  If  this  man  were  not  of  God,  he 
could  do  nothing."  This,  one  would  think,  is 
a  plain,  common-sense,  argument,  from  whose 
force  the  most  wily  sophist  could  not  escape. 
The  reader,  however,  knows  the  result.  The 
Pharisees  had  power  in  their  hands,  and  they 
took  a  very  short  way  of  removing  the  difficulty 


^15 

lu  which  they  were  so  unexpectedly  involved; 
their  iiJimis  were  seared;  their  tht;ological  pride 
was  picqued;  their  influence  was  in  danger;  and 
witd  an  air  of  great  mag  sterial  authority,  they 
answered  the  man  who  had  so  mildly  expostu- 
lated with  them — ''Thou  wast  altogether  born 
in  sin,  and  dost  thou  teach  us?  And  they  cast 
him  out." — They  were  wise  divines,  and  puis- 
sant rulers. 

Moreover,  they  exercised  their  power  as  ec- 
clesiastical oHicers.  with  a  great  deal  of  barba- 
rous arrogance.  We  shall  take  the  account  of 
their  official  deportment  from  the  lips  of  Jesus 
himself.  "-Then,  spake  Jesus  to  the  multitude, 
and  to  his  disciples,  saying,  the  scribes  and  the 
pharisees  sit  in  Moses'  seat:  ail,  therefore,  what- 
soever they  bid  you  observe,  that  observe  and  do; 
but  do  not  ye  after  their  works:  for  they  say  and 
do  not.  For  they  bind  heavy  burdens,  -and 
grievous  to  be  borne,  and  lay  them  on  men's 
shoulders;  but  they  themselves  will  not  move 
them  with  one  of  their  fingers.  But  all  their 
works  they  do  for  to  be  seen  of  men:  they  ma!:e 
broad  their  phylacteries,  and  enlarge  the  borelors 
of  their  garments,  and  love  the  uppermost  rooms 
at  feasts,  and  the  chief  seats  in  the  synagogues, 
and  greetings  in  the  markets,  and  to  be  caiied 
ot  men.  Rabbi,  Uabbi"*  What  a  description  of 
dignitaries!  However,  we  must  often  take  society 
as  it  is,  and  make  the  best  of  it.  Accordingly  the 
master  calls  his  disciples  to  the  exticise  and 
display  of  all  their  passive  virtues  under  those 
''Mat.as.  I— 7 


216 

unfavorable  circumstances  vvliicli  he  had  describ- 
ed; but  at  the  same  time  warns  them  against 
defiling  their  conscience,  or  sacrificing  their 
moral  integrity.  We  said  it  was  barbarous  ar- 
rogance with  which  these  official  men  made  such 
pretensions ;  and  the  Redeemer  himself  condemns 
it  as  a  heathenish  custom; — "^Ye  know,"  says  he, 
"that  the  princes  of  the  gentiles  exercise  do- 
minion over  them,  and  they  that  are  great,  exer- 
cise authority  upon  them."*  Alas',  human  be- 
ings have  been,  in  every  age,  and  in  every  quar- 
ter, of  this  unhappy  world,  sighing  after  liberty. 
And  yet  they  have  been  greatly  enslaved.  When 
will  the  time  come  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
huuian  mind.'*  Politically  and  religiously,  a  great 
and  thorough  revolution  is  needed,  and  it  will 
come  in  its  time.  What  a  pity  that  the  princes 
of  the  earth  cannot  be  induced  to  change  their 
policy!  Even  admitting  their  plea,  that  the  world 
is  not  prepared  for  such  a  change,  why  do  they 
not  show  their  wisdom  in  yielding  to  it  as  far  as 
it  has  gone,  and  ripening  it  for  its  further  pro- 
gress ?  It  belongs  not  to  rulers  to  crush  pub- 
lic opinion,  but  by  an  even  and  liberal  adminis- 
tration to  enlighten  and  direct  it;  for  the  dissem- 
ination of  knowledge,  whether  religious  or  po- 
litical, is  always  a  blessing  to  the  community 
which  enjoys  it. 

Such  were  the  social  principles  w^hich  the 
Redeemer  undertook  to  criticise  and  correct, 
when  he  came  a  messenger  from  God  to  the 
-spns  of  men.     He  endeavoured  to  bring  back 

*Mat.  20,25. 


217 

the  human  mind  under  the  dominion  of  divine 
authority,  as  not  merely  the  safest,  but  as  the 
only,  principle,  by  which  the  human  conscience  is 
to  be  controlled.  And  ere  he  went  to  his  throne, 
to  send  down  his  Spirit  as  the  official  seal  of  a 
ministerial  commission  he  had  imparted  to  his 
disciples,  he  solemnly  charged  them  to  carry  on 
the  work  he  had  begun;  to  erect  all  their  New 
Testament  associations  in  that  simple  form ;  and 
on  no  account  whatever  to  introduce  any  insti- 
tution into  his  church,  which  would  destroy  the 
liberty  of  his  people,  or  bring  them  into  subjec- 
tion to  human  masters.  Thus,  immediately 
after  having  stated  the  presumption  and  aberra- 
tions of  the  Jewish  rulers,  to  which  we  have  re- 
ferred, he  says  unto  them — "but  be  not  ye  called 
Rabbi:  for  one  is  your  master,  even  Christ;  and 
all  ye  are  brethren.  And  call  no  man  your 
father  upon  the  earth:  for  one  is  your  father, 
which  is  in  heaven.  Neither  be  ye  called  mas- 
ters: for  one  is  your  master,  even  Christ.  But 
he  that  is  greatest  among  you,  shall  be  your 
servant.  And  whosoever  shall  exalt  himself, 
shall  be  at)ased ;  and  lie  that  shall  humble  him- 
self, shall  be  exalted."*  Who  can  discern  any 
thing  here  like  a  spiritual  aristocracy;  or  trace  any 
thing  of  that  superiority  in  ministerial  character, 
which,  under  a  variety  of  form,  has  created  so  much 
controversy  in  the  religious  world?  What  show 
is  there  of  fatiguing  ceremony,  of  lordly  domin- 
ion, or  of  perplexed  iLile?     Is  there  aught  else 

■■  Mat.  23,  8—12. 

19 


2\H 

than  love,  and  harmony,  and   equality?     Have 
not   all  these   disciples,  "one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism,  one    God  and  Father   of  all,  who 
is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  all?"     Is 
not  every  manner  of  ecclesiastical    supremacy 
among  christian  brethren    positively  forbidden? 
Surely  then,  at  this  tribunal,    our  Creeds  must 
fall ;  for  they  are  evidently  tiie  statutes  of  men, 
combining  together   to    wield  an  ecclesiastical 
sceptre.     However  good  the  intentions  of  chris- 
tians in  framing  them  might  have  been,  or  what- 
ever good  result  the}?  might  have  conscientious- 
ly believed  them  capable  to  produce,  the  whole 
political  importance  of  these   instruments   con- 
sists in  their  authority;  and  their  practical  ten 
dency  has  been  to  bring  the  church  under  the 
dominion  of  men.     Once  they  grew  up  into  the 
papal   tyranny;   afterwards  they  nmde  a  Laud 
an  overmatch  for  a  royal  despot;  and  what  they 
would  do  now,  Vvere  they  consistent  \^  ith  the 
spirit  of  the    age,  or  had   not  the   Puritans,  a- 
nnd  tears  and  blood,  introduced  the  idea  of  hu- 
man   liberty  for   the  consideration  of  mankind, 
it  is  impossible  to  say.     The  event  of  this  pre- 
sent controversy  may  reveal  v/hat  their  strength 
is,  and  satify  the  most  sceptical,  whether  they 
are   authoritalwe  rules  of  faith   and  manners  in 
the  house  of  God,  or  not.  For,  be  it  remember- 
ed, that  it  is  against  such  pretensions,  that  the 
argument  in  these  pages,  maintaining  that   God 
is    the  only  Lord  of  conscience,  and   that   his 
Bible  is  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  is 
(directed. 


219 

The  change  of  dispensation,  which  occurred 
in  consequence  of  the  personEvl  advent  of  Mes- 
siah, would  necessarily  occasion  a  very  high 
and  general  excitement.  To  revolutionise  so- 
ciety, which  certainly  the  Rcileemer  not  only 
intended  to  do,  but  which  by  his  gospel  was  ac- 
tually done,  is  never  a  trifling  matter;  and  ha^.- 
py  is  the  age,  which,  when  it  inust  be  done,  can 
realize  it  without  bloodshed.  The  question 
about  the  authority  of  the  ceremonial  law,  was 
every  where  argued,  and  created  "no  small  dis- 
sension and  disputation."  The  Jew  was  very 
tenacious  of  his  old  customs;  and,  however  re- 
pulsive they  were  to  Gentile  converts,  he  would 
unrelentingly  demand  their  conformity.  Every 
reader  of  the  scriptures  knows  what  a  large 
space  this  controversy  occupied  in  the  early 
history  of  the  christian  church.  And  if  ever 
holy  men  were  embarrassed  by  a  general  ques- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  order,  which  the  spirit  of 
the  times  would  not  suffer  them  to  settle,  the 
apostles  were  thus  unhappily  situated.  At 
length  the  matter  was  brought  up  to  .Jerusalem 
to  undergo  a  formal  discussion.  The  church 
at  Jerusalem  was  the  ol:lest,  and  therefore,  it 
was  to  be  supposed,  the  best  informed,  of  the 
christian  churches:  the  question  was  particularly 
a  .Jewish  one;  the  Jews  in  the  various  provinces 
would  naturally  respect  the  opinions  of  their 
brethren  in  the  metropolis;  several  of  the  apos- 
tles were  there:  in  short,  all  circumstances  com- 
bined to  suggest  a  reference  to  that  particular 
church,  and  at  that  particular  time.   The  manner 


220 

in  which  ecclesiastical  things  are  managed  now, 
is  sufficient  to  awake  our  curiosity  to  know  how 
such  matters  were  treated  in  those  days;  or  to 
lead  us  to  observe  what  kind  of  ecclesiastical 
politicians  Peter,  Paul,  and  James  were,  when 
they  wished  to  heal  the  divisions  of  religious 
society. 

When  "the  apostles  and  elders  came  togeth- 
er for  to  consider  of  this  matter,"  and  the  whole 
subject  was  proposed  for  discussion,  there  was 
"much  disputing."  And  no  wonder.  They 
had  a  difficult  subject  to  handle ;  a  subject  which 
interested  every  body;  a  subject  on  which  the 
public  mind  had  not  been  enlightened,  though 
every  one  had  something  to  say  about  it,  and 
some  would  be  very  moderate,  and  others  very 
intolerant.  We  know  how  often  society  has 
been  divided,  and  convulsed,  by  such  a  state  of 
things,  and  how  often  hasty  legislation  has  done 
more  harm  than  good.  Full  liberty  was  grant- 
ed to  the  variety  of  speakers  to  declare  their 
sentiments,  and  expend  all  their  zeal.  When 
they  had  done,  Peter  rises  and  reminds  the  as- 
sembly of  some  things  which  had  occurred  un- 
der his  ministry,  and  about  which  he  had  been 
specially  instructed  by  a  heavenly  vision ;  and 
from  what  he  had  seen,  when  the  Holy  Ghost 
descended  upon  the  Gentiles,  he  infers  that  God 
who  knows  all  hearts,  and  is  therefore  a  better 
judge  of  the  moral  character  of  human  beings 
than  men  can  be,  had,  by  communicating  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel  to  them,  borne  witness 
in  their  favour,  without  enjoining  the  ceremonial 


221 

law  upon  them.  The  next  step,  therefore,  was, 
that  the  Jewish  church  had  no  right  whatever 
to  impose  a  yoke  upon  the  Gentile  church,  by 
enforcing;  the  ceremonial  law.  After  he  had 
finished,  the  whole  multitude  listened  patiently 
to  Barnabas  and  Paul,  who  rose  to  declare  what 
God  had  done  among  the  Gentiles  by  their  min- 
istry, in  order  that  they  might  judge  from  pro- 
vidential intimations  what  opinion  they  should 
express.  Facts  were  not  slight  things  even 
when  apostles  had  to  reason,  and  God's  provi- 
dential decisions  were  not  to  be  lightly  esteem- 
ed. James  takes  up  the  subject  in  this  form; 
and  laying  the  facts,  which  had  been  detailed, 
along  side  of  a  scripture  prophecy  which  was 
brought  to  his  recollection,  he  reached  a  con- 
clusion to  which  they  all  eventually  agreed. 
This  conclusion  they  thus  express: — '•'It  seemed 
good  to  the  Holy  Ghost," — i.  e.  judging  from 
scripture  prophecy,  and  providential  facts — and 
"to  us,  to  lay  upon  you  no  greater  burden  than 
these  necessary  things;  that  ye  abstain  from 
meats  offered  to  idols,  and  from  blood,  and  from 
things  strangled,  and  from  fornication;  from 
which  if  ye  keep  yourselves,  ye  shall  do  well. 
Fare  ye  well."* 

We  have  already  stated  our  views  of  this  as- 
sembly at  Jerusalem,  which  is  generally  consid- 
ered as  a  fine  sample  of  a  s .  nod  composed  of 
delegates  from  various  parts  of  the  church,  if 
not  a  full  warrant  for  a  general  council  conven- 

*Acts  15. 

19* 


222 

ed  to  take  in  charge  the  whole  interests  of  t\e 
church.  Possibly  all  this  may  he  so;  but  cer- 
tainly  the  context  does  not  afford  the  proof  that 
it  is  so:  and  the  maintenance  of  evangelical  truth, 
requires  no  overstrained  interpretation  of  scrip- 
ture, nor  any  far  fetched  illustration.  It  is  the 
only  thing  of  the  kind  on  the  New  Testament  page; 
and  it  does  not  appear  to  be  any  legislative  provi- 
sion, affecting  the  constitutional  principles  of  the 
church,  as  a  social  body.  A  reference  to  the 
church  at  Jerusalem,  providentially  favoured  by 
the  presence  of  some  of  the  apostles,  is  no  sample 
of  later  synods.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  it  gives  us 
an  opportunity  of  making  the  following  remarks 
in  connexion  with  our  present  subject:-^for 
"which  reason  we  referred  to  it. 

1 .  In  this  assembly,  great  care  was  taken  not 
to  enforce  upon  the  human  conscience,  religicus 
rites  for_  which  there  was  no  divine  icmrant. 
The  ceremonial  law  had  been  ordained  by  God: 
but  had  he  ever  required  Gentiles  to  obey  it? 
And  if  he  had  revealed  no  decision  of  that  kind, 
the  apostles  would  not  suffer  it  to  be  done  by 
human  authority.  They  searched  the  page  of 
prophecy,  to  know  what  had  been  declared  be- 
forehand, on  a  subject  on  which  the  prophets 
had  dwelt  with  such  holy  rapture;  they  carefully 
observed  what  had  been  the  course  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  administration  of  the  gospel  after  the  as- 
cension of  the  Saviour ;  and  perhaps  they  then  "de- 
sired to  see  one  of  the  days  of  the  Son  of  Man," 
tit;  1 1  they  might  hear  an  answer  from  his  own 
lips.     They  could  find  nothing  to  sustain  Judaic 


22S 

prp'iKlices,  and  they  would  not  undertake  to  be 
lordrs  over  God's  heritage. 

2.  Tliey  seemed  to  be  afraid  of  burdening;  the 
human  conscience  with  a  muUitude  of  ceremo- 
nies. There  ^vere  some  things  which  they  con- 
sidered tiecessary '^  some  elemental  principles 
which  were  to  be  surrendered  on  no  plea  vvhat- 
evei":  but  they  could  not  proceed  to  make  every 
little  thing  a  term  of  communion,  and  essential 
to  church  membership  They  had  all  felt  some 
di^nculty  about  the  ceremonial  law;  and  never 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  of  its  present  nugatory 
character  without  those  painful  anxieties,  which 
they  best  understand  who  have  to  change  their 
early  prepossessions ;  and  to  endure  the  censure  of 
those  who  have  not  seen  the  necessity  for  such 
a  change.  But  now  they  speak  very  distinctly ; 
— "-A  yoke,"  they  said,  ''which  neither  we,  nor 
our  fathers,  were  able  to  bear."  The  simplicity 
of  the  christian  dispensation,  the  liberality  of  its 
principles,  the  extent  of  its  charitable  operations, 
its  morp.  enlarged  provisions  of  individual  liberty 
and  social  privilege,  form  its  great  peculiarities, 
wliich  the  apostles  seemed  so  anxious  to  protect 
and  preserve.  When  ecclesiastical  courts  have 
made  religious  rites  oppressive  by  their  nuniber, 
or  embarrassing  by  their  narrow  prescriptions, 
they  have  inflicted  a  serious  injury  upon  the 
church;  and  this  heir  arrived  at  full  age  must 
revert  back  to  her  juvenile  tutelage. 

3.  This  assembly  did  not  proceed  to  extremes 
in  any  acts  of  discipline  which  they  passed. 
The  whole  question  is  not  answered,  but  society 


224> 

is  left  in  a  very  great  measure,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Jeliovah,  to  regulate  itself  The  cere- 
monial law  is  not  repealed;  the  Judaic  teacher 
is  not  thrown  under  ecclesiastical  censure;  the 
Jew  is  not  prevented  from  practising  circumci- 
sion; nor  is  the  Gentile  either  required,  or  fjr- 
bidden,  on  the  subject  which  had  been  referred, 
to  gratify  his  own  feelings.  'They  passed  no  au- 
thoritative decision. 

4.  Difference  of  opinion  is  not  recognised  as 
a  vs'arrant  for  sectarian  divisions.  The  matter 
before  this  supposed  church  court,  was  manifest- 
ly of  considerable  importance;  and  we  know, 
from  the  history  of  the  times,  with  what  a  jealous 
eye  every  movement  in  relation  to  it  was  watch- 
ed. Yet  the  apostles  seem  to  have  cherished  no 
idea  of  separating  the  Gentile  from  the  Jewish 
christian,  for  the  sake  of  peace;  nor  to  have 
made  any  provision  for  such  ecclesiastical  strife 
and  ruin.  They  seem  to  have  supposed,  that 
even  with  so  wide  a  difference  they  ought  to  com- 
mune cheerfully  together  in  New  Testament  or- 
dinances ;  to  forbear  with  one  another  to  a  great 
extent;  and  anxiously  to  endeavour  to  be  of  "one 
mind." 

Such  were  some  of  the  characteristics  of  this 
early  council,  if  council  it  may  at  all  be  called. 
And  if  this  course  had  not  been  pursued,  no 
living  man  can  tell  the  amount  of  injury  the 
church  might  have  sustaine^.  For  it  is  abun- 
dantly evident,  that  at  that  time,  the  church  was 
not  prepared  to  abrogate  the  ceremonial  institu- 
tions.    The  apostles  could  allow  no  compromise 


OQ-X 


25 

with  idolatry,  nor  would  they  siilTer  any  religious 
rite  in  an  idolatrous  connexion;  though  still  they 
were  very  tender  towards  gentile  feeling,  and 
very  delicate  towards  gentile  infirmities.  The 
one  thing  was  plain  and  clear,  and  their  decisions 
were  unhesitating  and  firm;  the  other  involved 
many  difficulties,  and  was  to  be  argued  on  very 
different  principles.  The  one  they  could  manage; 
the  other  they  were  obliged  to  leave  to  the  pro- 
vidence of  God;  and,  though  receiving  more 
light  every  day,  they  were  yet  compelled  to  wait, 
until  tlieir  master  took  the  whole  incumbrance 
out  of  the  way  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
and  the  calamitous  dispersion  of  the  Jewish  na- 
tion. But  had  they  adopted  a  different  policy, 
and  separated  the  Jewish  from  the  gentile  chris- 
tian; had  they  erected  different  religious  estab- 
lishments;— of  one  of  which  the  Jews  could  say, 
this  is  our  churchy  and  no  man  shall  enter  here, 
who  will  not  agree  to  walk  with  us,  on  our  own 
principles — and  of  the  other  of  which  the  gen- 
tiles could  say,  this  is  our  church.,  and  no  man 
shall  enter  here  who  will  not  agree  to  walk  with 
us  on  our  oivn  principles-^  what  confusion  would 
have  been  introduced!  The  Jewish  church 
would  then  have  made  Peter  their  pope,  and  the 
gentile  church  would  have  made  Paul  their  pope. 
How  completely  tliey  would  have  nullified  their 
own  commission  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature!"  And  how  fully  would  they  have  dc 
nounced  the  peculiar  doctrine  of  the  new  dispen- 
sation th<\y  won;  sent  out  to  procJnin^  that  '"'the 
righteousness  of  God,  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  is 


22Q 

unto  all  and  upon  all  them  that  believe;  for  there 
is  no  difference!"  These  things,  vvhich  we  can  do 
so  easily,  and  justify  so  positively,  they  did  not 
do.  They  never  sulfered  either  Jew  or  Gentile 
to  set  up  a  sectarian  standard,  and  form  a  volun- 
tary association  for  himself  and  those  that  agreed 
vv^ith  him.  They  never  permitted  a  human  Creed 
or  summary  to  be  drawn  out,  either  with  few  or 
with  many  articles,  the  one  admitting,  and  the 
other  excluding,  the  obligation  of  the  ceremo- 
nial law.  All  their  deliberations  in  Jerusalem 
are  evidently  predicated  upon  the  unity  of  the 
church.  They  sanctioned  no  reciprocal  excom- 
munications; but  viewing  the  ditferenccs  of  opin- 
ions and  habits  which  existed,  and  which  it  is 
not  easily  seen  how,  considering  human  infirmi- 
ties, they  should  not  have  existed,  with  a  mild 
eye,  they  made  them  matters  of  forbearance,  and 
endeavoured  to  maintain  "the  unity  of  the  spirit 
in  the  bond  of  peace." 

In  their  individual  characters,  the  apostles 
acted  on  the  very  same  principles.  After  Paul 
had  left  Jerusalem,  and  m  hile  he  held  the  de- 
crees of  the  apostles  and  elders  in  his  hand,  he 
met  with  Timothy,  and  desiring  to  have  him  as  a 
ministerial  companion,  he  "took  and  circumcised 
him,  because  of  the  Jews."  This  fact  clearly  re- 
veals the  nature  of  those  deliberations  which  had 
been  carried  on  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  bearing 
wdiich  their  sentence  was  designed  to  have  upon 
the  practice  of  the  churches.  It  clearly  proves, 
that  the  apostles  and  elders  had  not  njade  an  au- 
thoritative decision  upon  the  subject  which  had 


227 

been  referred  to  them;  for  circumcision  was  not 
among  those  necessary  things  which  the  apostol- 
ic decrees  had  spccilied;  so  that,  in  going  be- 
yond their  limits,  it  is  manifest,  either  that  they 
were  not  intended  to  operate  as  a  positive  rule, 
or  that  Paul  did  not  feel  himself  unJer  an  obli- 
gation to  comply  wilh  them.  Circumcision  was, 
in  fact,  the  very  thing  which  they  refused  to  en- 
join;— "we  gave,"  said  they, '"no  such  command- 
ment:" yet  Paul  did  circumcise  Timothy,  and 
that  for  a  reason  simply  prudential  and  local. 
On  another  occasion,  when  certain  individuals, 
actuated  by  invidious  motives,  sought  to  spy  out 
the  liberty  which  he  allowed  and  enjoyed, 
and  were  making  an  effort  to  force  the  Mo- 
saic law  upon  his  conscience,  he  would  not  sub- 
mit, no  not  for  an  hour.  And  though  he  had  tak- 
en Titus,  who  was  a  Greek,  up  to  Jerusalem, 
}et  none  there  would  compel  Titus  to  be  cir- 
cumcised. There  was  evidently  a  good  deal  of 
discussion  about  it,  but  still  it  was  not  done. 
Had  it  been  a  mere  matter  of  indifference,  or  a 
mere  question  of  prudence,  the  apostle  v/ould 
have  yielded,  as  he  had  done  when  he  chose 
Timothy  to  accompany  him.  But  there  were 
some,  who,  not  contented  to  have  their  own 
opinions  undisturbed,  vvouhl  autkoritai'welif  h'lud 
them  down  upon  others,  and  make  them  the 
terin  of  ministerial,  and  christian,  comnmnion. 
Tiere  was  no  divine  command  to  circumcise  the 
Gentiles; that  rite  could  be  pressed  upon  them 
only  by  human  anthority^  and  this  was  the  con- 
test. Paul  would  not  stand  by,  timid  and  untaith- 


228 

ful,  while  christian  liberty  was  assaulted,  and  an 
atiempt  was  made  to  bring  the  children  of  God 
under  the  dominion  of  man.  The  great  mas- 
ter of  assemblies  would  not  suffer  his  church, 
BO,  not  under  the  administration  of  the  apos- 
tles themselves,  to  trifle  with  the  consciences  of 
her  members,  and  Paul  stood  forth  to  maintain 
their  rights.  Such  was  the  deportment  of  this 
apostle,  who,  though  he  had  made  himself  ser- 
vant unto  all,  yet  most  explicitly  asserts,  that  he 
is  free  from  all ;  and  who,  while  he  styles  the 
christian  "-the  Lord's  freeman,"  exhorts  him  not 
to  be  the  servant  of  men. 

When  Peter  went  to  Antioch,  he  at  first  did 
eat  mth  the  Gentiles;  but  afterwards  he  sepa- 
rated himself  from  them,  when  certain  Jews 
came  down  from  James.  Paul  says,  he  was 
afraid.  Those  of  the  circumcision  had  awed 
him  into  their  measures;  and  instead  of  main- 
taining his  integrity,  he  dissembled,  and  led 
others,  by  his  influence  and  example,  to  act  in 
the  same  manner.  In  this,  his  brother  apostle 
says,  he  was  to  be  "blamed ;""  and  he  therefore 
severely  reproved  him.  "When  I  saw,"  says  he, 
"that  they  walked  not  uprightly,  according  to 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  I  said  unto  Peter  before 
them  all, — If  thou,  being  a  Jew,  livest  as  do  the 
Gentiles,  and  not  as  do  the  Jews,  why  compellest 
thou  the  Gentiles  to  live  as  do  the  Jews.'''  Here 
again, 'Paul  stands  forth  the  champion  of  chris- 
tian liberty.  He  would  not  suffer  even  an  apos- 
tle to  usurp  a  control  over  the  human  consci- 
ence, nor  applaud  him  for  submitting  to  others 


220 

lliroiigh  fear:  but  considers  him  as  walking 
neither  uprv^hllij^  nor  according  to  the  truili  of 
the  gospel.  He  had  abandoned  tlie  high  ground, 
on  which,  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  he  ought  to 
have  stood,  and  through  "the  fear  of  man," 
which  "bringeth  a  snare,"  he  liad  fallen  into  sin. 
Thus  he  not  only  incurred  a  very  severe  rebuke, 
but  became  an  example,  to  all  who  should  come 
after  him.  of  the  wretched  consequences  of  sub- 
mitting divine  things  to  human  control. — We 
may  not  then  allow  any  man,  nor  any  set  of  men, 
to  carry  out  similar  pretensions. 

Some  incidents  which  occurred  during  the 
ministry  of  the  Redeemer  on  earth,  afford  a  sim- 
ilar illustration  of  our  subject,  to  which  we  must 
advert  before  we  close  this  section.  On  one 
occasion,  ''he  went  through  the  cornfields  on  the 
sabbath  day,  and  his  disciples  began,  as  they 
went,  to  pluck  the  ears  of  corn  "  This  conduct 
greatly  offended  the  Pharisees,  who  were  very 
scrupulous  religionists,  and  supposed  that  no 
one  could  be  as  righteous  as  they.  They  there- 
fore said  unto  him  in  their  holy  zeal — "Behold, 
why  do  they  on  the  sabbath  day  that  which  is 
not  lawful  .f"'  Now,  unquestionably,  the  sabbath 
is  a  divine  institution;  and  the  Pharisees  were 
perfectly  right  to  keep  it  a  holy  day.  Many- 
men,  however,  "have  a  zeal  of  God,  but  not  ac- 
cording to  knowledge,"  which  happened  to  be 
the  fact  in  the  present  case.  For  they  had  not 
adopted  the  scriptural  view  of  the  salDbath ;  but 
it  was  their  tradUionary  and  sectarian  notion, 

20 


2S0 

wliich  they  expressed; — an  idea  which  they  had 
acquired  (rom  Si  summary  of  moral  duties  which 
they  had  made  for  themselves,  or  wiiich  their 
fathers  had  made  for  them^  and  which  they  adopt- 
ed as  a  spiritual  rule  in  place  of  the  scriptures. 
Had  they  studied  the  Old  Testament,  as  much 
as  they  did  their  traditions,  they  would  not  have 
fallen  into  the  mistake  they  so  hastily  commit- 
ted.— '"-Have  ye  never  read,"  said  Jesus,  '•'what 
David  did,  when  he  had  need  and  was  an  hun- 
gered; he,  and  they  that  were  with  him.'^  How 
he  went  into  the  house  of  God,  in  the  days  of 
Abiathar  the  hij^h  priest;  and  did  eat  the  shew 
bread,  which  is  not  lauful  to  eat  but  for -the 
priests;  and  gave  also  to  them  which  vvere  with 
bim.'"'  And  what  conclusion  does  this  divine 
expositor  of  his  own  law,  draw  from  the  fact.^  A 
very  important  one,  which  ministers  of  the  gospel 
ouj;ht  never  to  forget: — ""the  sabbath  was  made 
Jor  man^  and  not  man  for  the  sabbath."  And 
what  ought  we  to  infer  from  the  w-hole.''  We 
think  the  following  things  most  clearly  result: 
1.  That,  as  the  Pharisees  were  severely  re- 
buked for  condemning  the  disciples  on  their  own 
sectarian  principles,  man  is  not  to  be  judged,  nor 
his  conscience  to  be  controlled,  by  those  views 
of  divine  truth,  or  of  divine  institutions, which  are 
sanctioned  simply  by  human  authority  and  sec- 
tarian provisions.  Now  this  is  the  very  form  in 
which  our  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith  are 
presented  as  most  fairly  defensible; — i.  e.  as 
summaries  of  the  doctrines  of  the  scriptures^  made 
by  human  hands  in  building  up  a  distinct  denonii- 


2^1 

nation  or  sect.  The  Pharisees  wished  to  make 
their  own  law  a  rule  ^ov  Christ's  disci ph;s,  and 
he  would  not  sutler  it,  but  referred  dlreeUtj  to  the 
scriptures  as  their  rule. 

2.  That  God  never  designed  to  make  even  his 
own  institutions  oppressive  to  man;  nor  did  he 
intend  that  in  theii-  operations  they  should  deprive 
him  of  his  comforts.  How  much  less  then  would 
he  allow  ecclesiastical  rulers  to  meet  together, 
and  erect  institutions,  and  frame  laws  which 
would  distract  and  distress  the  human  spirit. 

3.  That  christians  who  are  living  according 
to  the  scriptures,  though  they  may  not  approve 
of  some  of  the  current  maxims  of  the  day,  shall 
be  protected  by  him,  however  much  they  may  be 
condemned  by  men  in  power:  and  that  he  views 
any  course  of  legislation,  which  may  shut  out 
any  who  are  so  living  from  divine  ordinances,  as- 
anti  scriptural  and  tyrannical. 

4.  That  in  any  age,  the  scriptures  are  a  bet- 
ter subject  of  reference  in  relation  to  christian 
principle  and  christian  duties,  than  any  formu- 
laries which  men  may  adopt;  that  the  popularity 
of  a  human  Creed  is  not  an  unequivocal  proof 
of  its  excellence,  not  though  it  may  have  been 
approved  by  many  ditterent  ages;  that  they  who 
are  walking  in  the  light  of  the  Bible,  are  on  surer 
ground,  than  those  who  are  zealously  maintain- 
ing their  own  sectarian  distinctions:  and  that 
the  Master,  when  he  comes  to  judge  the  charac- 
ter and  conduct  of  men,  throws  aside  all  human 
Creeds,  aiid  takes  the  Bible. — The  Bible   rs 


IIEAVE>  S    TEST    OF    ORTHODOXY    FOR   THE  SONS 

OF    MEN. 

On  another  occasion,  it  happened  that  while 
"Jesus  sat  at  meat  in  the  house,  behold  many- 
publicans  and  sinners  came  and  sat  down  with 
him  and  his  disciples.  And  when  the  Pharisees 
saw  it,  they  said  unto  his  disciples,  why  eateth 
your  master  with  publicans  and  sinners.''  But 
Avhen  Jesus  heard  that,  he  said  unto  them,  they 
that  be  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they 
timt  are  sick.  But  go  ye  and  learn  what  that 
meaneth,  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice ; 
for  I  am  not  come  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sin- 
ners to  repentance:"  Here  was  another  incor- 
rect view  of  moral  principle,  in  its  application 
to  the  affairs  of  human  life ;  classing  men  under 
sectarian  names,  and  substantiating  social  regu- 
lations by  human  authority.  The  Pharisees, 
in  stating  their  scruples,  are  once  more  referred 
to  the  scriptures,  and  are  made  to  blush  for  the 
wretched  leanness  of  their  own  summary  of 
moral  duties.  Moreover,  it  is  rendered  evident, 
that  men,  who  have  immortal  souls,  are  not  to 
be  treated  with  so  much  sang-froid  and  inhu- 
manity, as  though  under  the  operations  of  the 
gospel  there  was  no  hope  for  them ;  that  we  are 
not  at  liberty — and  certainly  we  ought  to  have 
no  disposition — to  insert  in  our  systems,  any 
clause  of  cold,  unfeeling,  and  harsh  reprobation; 
and  that  we  may  not  withdraw  the  benefits  of 
the  gospel  from  those  who  cannot  accede  to  all 
our  views,  which  we  may  be  pleased  to  call 
scriptural,   but  which  they  cannot  see  to  be  in. 


233 

the  scriptures.  We  may  not  wrap  ourselves  in 
our  sectarian  mantle,  and,  like  the  priest  and 
Levite,  pass  by  on  the  other  side,  leaving  a  poor 
fellow  man  to  be  mangled  by  fiends  or  torn  by 
devils,  because  he  does  not  agree  with  some  of 
our  metaphysical  ideas,  about  some  religious 
truths.  We  must  be  the  agents  of  mercij;  and 
MERCY  is  a  lovely  attribute  of  a  moral  agent. 
Man,  fallen,  unhappy  man,  is  the  object  of  her 
profound  concern;  wherever  he  lives,  whatever 
he  suffers,  however  uninformed,  she  loves  and 
seeks  to  bless  him.  She  ranges  from  north  to 
south,  and  from  east  to  west;  she  encourages 
the  missionary  amid  all  his  toils;  and  gathers 
up  eveiy  little  pittance,  which  we  cold-hearted 
christians  contribute,  weeping  that  she  has  been 
able  to  procure  so  little ; — God  designs  that  the 
sons  of  truth  shall  cover  tfie  whole  earth  with 
deeds  of  mercy.  This  walking  on  "our  own 
principles;"  this  shutting  out  from  our  brotherly 
intercourse  and  spiritual  fellowship  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High  God,  is  not  one  of  mercy's  plans: 
it  is  an  unhallowed  system  which  can  be  defend- 
ed only  by  the  bloody  weapons  of  sectarian 
pride. — IIow  humbled  and  mortified  must  these 
Pharisees  have  felt;  wlio  thought  they  were  so 
holy,  knew  so  much,  and  could  so  easily  thrust 
a  poor,  humble,  saved^  sinner  out  of  the  syna- 
gogue; when  Jesus  bid  them  to  go  and  study  the 
scriptures,  and  to  try  to  find  out  the  meaning  of 
this  plain  sentence, — I  iviil  have  inercy  and  not 
sacnjice. 

20* 


334 

yVe  think  we  have  now  proved  our  position* 
that  the  scriptures  have  expressed  much  displea- 
sure with  every  attempt  to  bring  the  human  con- 
science under  the  tyranny  of  human  rulers.  What 
then  if  the  form  be  a  little  changed?  What  if 
we  be  called  Presbyterians,  or  Episcopalians,  or 
Methodists,  &.C.  instead  of  Pharisees,  Sadducees, 
or  Essenes?  What  if  we  call  our  sectarian 
code  a  Creed^  instead  of  the  ceremonial  law? 
What  if  we  substitute  the  term  orthodoxy  for 
circumcision?  Where,  after  all,  is  the  real  dif- 
ference, when  we  still  control  the  human  con- 
science; give  visible  form  to  the  divine  ordinan- 
ces; and  call  men  up  to  worship  in  our  church? 
If  we  possess  the  power  to  create  terms  of  com- 
munion in  religious  things,  and  can  "-cast  out" 
of  the  church  those  who  do  not  chuse  to  submit 
to  our  assumed  authority,  we  cannot  see  the  dif- 
ference:— the  two  things  appear  to  us  to  be  one 
and  the  same.  And  if  we  are  right,  as  we  most 
conscientiously  believe  we  are,  then  are  human 
Creeds  as  frequently,  as  solemnly,  and  as  pe- 
remptorily, forbidden  in  the  scriptures,  as  ever 
the  idols  of  the  nations  were  reprobated,  or  ^""the 
traditions  of  the  elders"  condemned.  Let  the 
reader  look  out  for  himself;  we  are  uttering  sim- 
ply what  ive  believe  we  have  proved; — presently 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  come  to  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness  and  truth. — Happy  shall  it  be  for 
the  church,  when  Ministers  shall  learn  to  argue 
like  men,  and  not  like  theologians;  like  chris- 
tians, and  not  like  churchmen;  or  when,  instead 
of  retreating  into   the  decisions  of  synods  for 


235 

authority,  and  into  Creeds  and  Catechisms  for 
spiritual  instruction,  they  shall  betake  theni- 
selves  to  the  word  of  God,  and  plead  for  the 
influences  of  his  Holy  Spirit. 


SECTION  5. 


Our  fourth  general  principle  is, —  That  the 
Sciiplures  iwver  do  recognise  {lie  churcli  as  a 
volmit((ry  association;  but  do  uniformly  repre- 
sent it  as  a  community  separated  from  the  world^ 
and  under  law  to  Christ 

Israel  of  old  was  God's  peculiar  people,  whom 
he  had  chosen  for  himself.  They  stood  in  a 
particular  relation  to  him;  had  special  advan- 
tages confencd  upon  them;  and  were  perempto- 
rily commanded  to  serve  no  other  God.  In  the 
statutes  which  they  had  received,  they  were 
positively  forbidden  to  assume  any  lordship  over 
one  another;  and  were  required  to  live  together 
as  brethren.,  who  had  been  associated  under  a 
common  law; not  by  a  mere  voluntary  arrange- 
ment of  their  own,  nor  yet  as  the  consequence 
of  natural  relations,  but  by  a  very  singular  and 
gracious  constitution  which  Jehovah  was  pleased 
to  grant  unto  them.  Hear  the  law; — '"If  thy 
brother,  that  dwelieth  by  thee  be  waxen  poor, 
atid  be  sold  unto  thee;  thou  shalt  not  compel 
him  to  serve  as  a  bondservant. — Over  your  bre- 
thren, the  children  of  Israel,  ye  shall  not  rule 


2S6 

over  one  another  with  rigour."  Hear  the  reason 
of  the  law; — '•'•For  they  are  my  servants^  which 
I  brought  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  they 
shall  not  be  sold  as  bond-men."  This  was  fine 
national  law:  and  if  the  nations  of  the  world 
were  all  under  it,  how  very  ditFerent  would  be 
their  situation!  The  earth  should  yield  her  in- 
crease, and  God,  even  our  own  God,  would  bless 
us.  We  look  lor  that  day,  however  vain  our 
expectations  may  be  supposed  lo  be:  that  day, 
when  the  spear  shall  become  a  pruning  hook; 
when  the  sword  shall  be  beaten  into  a  plough- 
share; when  official  robes  shall  all  be  "for  beauty 
and  glory;"  and  when  peace  and  love,  like  the 
dews  of  heaven,  or  like  "rain  upon  the  mown 
grass,"  shall  descend  upon  all  the  earth. 

But  what  has  this  to  do  with  our  subject."* — 
Much,  very  much.  For  Paul  applies  this  very 
fact,  so  characteristic  of  the  happy  condition  of 
God's  people,  to  our  condition  under  the  new 
economy,  when  he  is  arguing  on  the  subject  of 
christian  liberty  with  the  Galatians.  He  extracts 
a  beautiful  allegory  from  the  history  of  Abra- 
ham's family ;  and  represents  the  christian  church 
as  a  society  composed  of  t]ie  people  of  God:  of 
free  born  sons  and  daughters  whom  no  man  has 
a  right  to  enslave  by  statutes  and  ordinances. 
"This  Agar,"  he  says,  "is  Mount  Sinai  in  Ara- 
bia, and  answereth  to  Jerusalem  which  now  is, 
and  is  in  bondage  with  her  children  But  Jeru- 
salem which  is  above,  is  free^  which  is  the  mo- 
ther of  us  all. — So  then,  brethren,  we  are  not 
children  of  tlie  bond  woman^  but  of  tJie  free. 


237 

Stand  fast  therefore  in  iJie  liberty  tvfiereuntfi 
Christ  has  made  ^is  fee  ^  and  be  not  enfari;^led 
again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage.''''*  What  can  be 
the  meaning  of  all  this,  if  it  be  not,  that  God's 
people  arc  a  free  people?  And  in  what  can 
their  freedom  consist,  if  it  be  not  in  an  exemption 
from  human  laws;  particularly  when  it  is  con- 
sidered, that  the  apostle  is  arguing  upon  the 
repeal  even  of  divine  laws,  suited  to  infant  socie- 
ty? We  all  understand  what  the  meaning  of 
a  young  man's  arriving  at  legal  age  is;  how  he 
himself  feels;  and  how  all  society  feels  towards 
him:  and  the  apostle  is  deriving  his  simile  from 
those  established  habits  of  human  law  which 
every  man  fully  comprehends; — those  establish- 
ed habits  which  grow  out  of  such  simple  and 
self  evident  principles,  that  every  age  must  have 
them,  while  the  common  sense  of  mankind 
knows  any  difference  to  exist  between  men  and 
children.  Israel,  as  God''s  people,  were  then 
under  laiv  to  himself;  and  their  ecclesiastical 
condition  declares — that  liberty  of  conscience, 
or  freedom  from  human  law  as  controlling  the 
conscience,  is  an  elemental  principle  of  that 
ecclesiastical  constitution  which  has  brought  us 
into  relation  with  God:  or  in  other  words,  that 
the  very  meaning  of  our  being  under  law  to 
God,  is  that  we  are  not  under  law  to  man.  If 
this  be  not  so,  then  there  is  no  application  of 
the  apostle's  figure  to  the  subject  he  was  dis- 
cussing; and  the  harmony  of  principle  between, 

"Gal.  chap.  4.  *», 


238 

the  two  dispensations,  which  he  asserts  doe& 
exist,  is  completely  broken  up. 

ISow  then  Ave  say,  that  the  Jewish  consti- 
tution was  not  the  law  of  a  vohmtary  associa- 
tion. We  do  not  mean  in  this  to  say,  that  the 
Jews,  acting  according  to  the  spirit  of  their 
nativjnal  institutions,  were  not  God's  ivillin^  ser- 
vants; but  simply  use  the  phrase  in  ihe  sense,  in 
which  we  understand  it,  in  relation  to  our  pre- 
sent subject.  God  did  not  leave  them  to  make 
laws  for  themselves  or  for  one  another,  but  gave 
them  his  own  law.  Their  chief  advantage 
was,  "that  unto  them  were  conmiitted  the  ora- 
cles OF  GOD."  He  did  not  allow  them  to  usurp 
any  dominion  over  one  another;  but  commanded 
them  to  live  together  as  brethren.,  and  to  remem- 
ber that  they  were  all  his  servants.  The  intro- 
duction of  monarchical  power,  made  a  grevious; 
breach  among  them;  and  they  surrendered  their- 
liberties  by  disowning  Jehovah  as  their  sover- 
eign.— -''•They  have  not  rejected  thee,"  said  God 
to  Samuel ;  "but  they  have  rejected  me,  that  I 
should  not  reign  over  them.  Now  therefore 
hearken  unto  their  voice:  howbeit  yet  protest 
solemnly  unto  them,  and  show  them  the  manner 
of  the  king  that  shall  reign  over  them,"  And, 
Samuel  went  and  told  them  what  kind  of  a  rukr 
their  fellow  man  would  make;  that  he  would 
deprive  them  of  many  of  their  rights;  diminish 
their  privileges;  rob  them  of  their  liberties;  and 
despoil  them  of  their  ;«oods.  But  they  refused. 
to  listen,  and  a  king  they  would  have.  They 
wanted  to  change  the  fine   constitution  which. 


\ 


289 


God  had  given  them;  and  they  iiwild  niter  their 
•national  compact  into  some  other  form;  for 
which,  perhaps,  a  volimtarif  association  is  not  a 
bad  name.  And  thus  a  mij^hty  power  was  or- 
ganised amidst  God's  own  free  people,  which 
took  away  Jewish  lib'.-rty;  not  unlike  that  which 
afterwards  grew  up  in  the  christian  church,  when 
Constantine  was  called  to  «;race  the  chair  of  state 
in  God''s  house;  and  an  ecclesiastical  council  was 
made  his  spiritual  cabinet,  to  frame  a  human 
Creed  as  the  rule  of  his  ghostly  dominion. 
That  very  power  which  still  exists,  wherever 
men  exercise  the  fearful  prerogative  of  making 
rules  of  faith  and  manners  for  God's  pef»ple; 
which,  whether  they  think  them  of  paramount 
or  equal  authority  with  the  Bible,  or  not — and  we 
know  full  well,  that  no  protestant  will  dare  to 
represent  them  as  paramount — are  yet  made  the 
great  and  distinguishing  tests  of  christian  char- 
acter. This  mighty  power,  erected  in  Judea, 
accomplished  there,  what  it  will  accomplish  any 
where,  and  what  it  has  accomplished  in  the 
christian  church ; — it  either  degrades  and  cruslb- 
es  the  spirit  of  mm.  or  it  ends  in  division. 

Under  the  iSew  Testament,  the  Holy  Spirit 
never  adverts  to  this  principle  of  human  liberty, 
but  with  an  intention  to  increase  its  force,  and 
seat  it  more  firmly  in  the  human  breast.  Hear 
the  apostles  speak  of  the  church,  and  of  their 
own  relations  to  her  members:—  "We  are  la- 
bourers together  with  God:  ye  are  God''s  hus- 
bandry; God's  building: — Now,  th^'refore,  ye 
are  no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow- 


240 

citizens  with  the  vSaints,  and  of  the  household  of 
God:  and  are  built  upon  Ibe  foundation  of  the 
apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  be- 
ing the  chief  corner  stone:  in  whom  all  the 
hnWd'm^^  Jitly  framed  together^  grovveth  unto  an 
holy  temple  in  the  Lord. — Take  heed,  therefore, 
unto  yourselves;  and  to  all  the  flock,  over  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  has  made  you  bishops,  to  feed 
the  church  of  God.  which  lie  hath  purchased  with 
his  oicn  blood. — And  he  gave  some  apostles; 
and  some  prophets;  and  son)e  evangelists;  and 
some  pastors  and  teachers;  for  the  perfecting 
of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for 
the  edifying  of  tJie  body  of  Christ.''''  Can  any 
man  perceive  here  any  thing  like  our  voluntary 
associations,  or  a  number  of  ecclesiastical  bodies, 
totally  distinct  from  one  another,  and  regulated 
by  human  laws?  The  apostles  knew  of  no  such 
institutions,  as  sanctioned  by  divine  authority. 
They  always  represent  the  church,  as  having 
within  herself  the  principle  of  her  own  existence 
and  prosperity,  by  virtue  of  her  union  with 
Christ  her  head ;  and  as  wholly  independent  of  the 
regulations  of  men.  They  indeed  admit  of  local 
divisions;  and  speak  of  the  church  of  Corinth, 
the  church  of  Jerusalem,  the  church  of  Rome, 
the  churches  of  Galatia;  but  they  never  describe 
them  as  voluntary  associations.  They  are  all 
the  church  of  Gof ,  and  are  all  bound  together 
as  one  great  whole,  pervaded  by  one  spirit,  and 
fed  by  the  same  bread. 

Attempts  were  made  to  form  voluntary  asso- 
ciations, but  the  apostles  always  frowned  upon 


Jg41 

them,  and  severely  rebuked  all  who  were  em- 
gaged  in  them.  Thus  in  Corinth,  professing 
christians  were  very  zealous  in  promoting  divi- 
sion. One  said — I  am  of  Paul;  another — 
I  am  of  Apollos;  a  third — I  am  of  Cephas;  and 
a  fourth,  more  towering  than  all  the  rest — I  am 
of  Christ.  Just  as  we  say  now  a  days;  I  am  a 
Lutheran, — I  am  an  Arminian, — I  am  a  Presbyte- 
rian,— or,  I  am  an  Episcopalian.  Paul  would  not 
accept  the  luniours  his  party  wished  to  confer 
upon  him ;  and  forbids  them  all  to  seek  for  any  hu- 
man patrons,  however  exalted  their  official  sta- 
tions might  be.  He  asks  them  with  a  great  deal  of 
significance,  "Is  Christ  divided?  Was  Paul 
crucified  for  you,  or  were  ye  baptised  in  the 
name  of  Paul.'*  Who  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apol- 
los, but  ministers  by  whom  ye  believed,  even  as 
the  Lord  gave  to  every  man.''  I  have  planted, 
Apollos  watered ;  but  God  gave  the  increase.  So 
then,  neither  is  he  that  planteth  any  tlung^ne'ither 
he  that  watereih;  but  God  that  giveth  the  in- 
crease. Now  he  that  planteth,  and  he  tliat  wa- 
tereth,  arc  one:  and  every  man  shall  receive  his 
own  reivard  according  lo  his  own  labour.''''  Nor 
is  this  all:  for  Paul  could  discern  none  of  that 
superior  zeal  for  purity  of  doctrine,  and  gocili- 
ness  of  living,  growing  out  of  these  sectarian 
divisions,  about  which  we  hear  so  much.  On 
the  contrary,  he  expressly  tells  the  Corinthians, 
that  these  things  manifested  a  great  deal  of  child- 
ishness and  carnality ;  and  that  thus  the  spread  jf 
the  gospel  was  interrupted,  and  the  influence  of 

2\ 


2^2 

the  truth  hindered.     "And  I,  brethren,''  he  in- 
forms them,  ''could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto 
spinhml^  but  as  unto  carnal^  even  as  unto  babes 
in  Christ.     I  have  fed  you  with   miJk,   and  not 
with  strong  meat:  for  hitherto  ye  were  not  able 
to  bear  it;  neither  yet  now  are  ye  able.     For  ye 
are  yet  carnal:  for  whereas  there  is  among  you 
envying,  and  strife,  and  divisions,  are  ye  not  car- 
nal, and  walk  as  men.'^     For  while  one  saith,  I 
am  of  Paul;  and  another,  I  am  of  ApoUos;  are 
ye  not  carnal.^" — If  Paul  had  lived  in  our  day, 
would  he  not  have  been  reprobated  as  a  grievous 
heretic;  and  invited  to  leave  our  voluntary  asso- 
ciations, as  being  a  very  unworthy  member.''    For 
surely,  he  would  level  all  our  proud  distinctions, 
with  a  determined  spirit,  and  an  impartial  hand. 
The  particular  form,  in  which  human  authori- 
ty would  be   most  likely  to  present  her  lofty 
pretensions  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  and  from 
which  an  opportunity  might  be  derived  to  usurp 
^  dominion  over  conscience,  would,  of  course, 
be  afforded  by  the  controversy  of  the  age.     Am- 
bition, lust  of  fame,  and  love  of  power,  are  often 
found  to   be  the  distinguishing   attributes  of  a 
controversial  spirit.  In  that  period  of  the  church, 
w^e  must  look  for  those  men  who  love  to  have 
the  pre-eminence,  among  the  zealots  in  favor  of 
the  ceremonial   law:  and  it  is  in  the   opposition 
which  the  apostles  made  to  them,  that  we  must 
look  for  their  ideas  on  spiritual   liberty.     And 
with  this  remark  to  guide  us,  we  should  con- 
sider Paul's   epistle  to    the  Galatians,  a  most 
.satisfactory   and   conclusive    argument   against 


243 

human  Creeds:  because  he  is  tliere  coiitendirii^ 
against  the  approach  of  huiiiati  authority,  iu  tiie 
form  in  which  it  must  necessarily  be  made  in  that 
age.  Luther  seems  to  have  thought,  that  ho 
could  select  no  better  scriptural  position,  where 
he  might  defend  the  liberty  of  the  human  con- 
science on  better  terms.  To  tliis,  however,  wc 
have  already  had  occasion  to  refer,  in  a  previous 
part  of  these  remarks.  And  as  the  inspired  au 
thor  of  that  epistle,  had  to  contend  with  the 
same  ditliculty  under  a  variety  of  circum- 
stances, we  shall  extract  the  further  quotations 
we  think  proper  to  make  from  other  epistles  ad- 
dressed by  him  to  other  churches. 

He  thus  exhorts  the  Colossians.  "As  ye  have 
t4ierefore  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so 
walk  ye  in  him;  rooted  and  built  up  in  him,  and 
established  in  the  faith,  as  ye  have  been  taught, 
abounding  therein  with  thanksgiving."  This  is 
the  great  object  which  Christians  ought  always 
to  keep  in  view.  We  should  continually  en- 
deavor to  live  near  to  Christ;  daily  to  grow  up 
into  his  image;  habitually  to  obey  his  command 
ments;  and  confidently  to  rest  our  hopes  upon 
him  as  the  only  Saviour,  and  as  an  all-sufficient 
Saviour.  But  we  shall  not  accomplish  this 
moral  enterprise,  without  meeting  many  difficul- 
ties; etforts  will  be  made  to  corrupt  our  integri- 
ty, and  to  divert  our  faith  from  its  great  objec(. 
The  apostle  therefore  proceeds  to  put  the  Co- 
lossians  on  their  guard: — "Beware  lest  any  man 
spoil  you  through  philosophy  and  vain  deceit, 
after  tht  tradUion  of  men^  after  the  rudiments  of 


2U 

tlie  world,  and  not  after  Christ:  for  in  hhn 
■dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily; 
and  ye  are  complete  in  him^  which  is  the  head 
of  all  principality  and  power."  Now  the  mean- 
ing of  this  is  very  plain;  and  as  the  church  af- 
terwards forgot  this  exhortation,  she  became  a 
melancholy  example  of  its  truth.  Christians 
are  in  danger  of  being  spoiled  by  philosophy ;  of 
■which  the  history  of  scholastic  theology,  both  in^. 
the  days  of  Origen,  and  at  the  present  hour,  fur- 
nishes ample  proof  They  may  be  led  away  from 
Christ  the  head,  by  human  traditions ;  or  the  max- 
ims and  ordinances  of  men,  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation:  a  wretched  combination, 
to  which,  every  christian  knows,  must  be  traced 
the  causes  of  the  reformation.  The  apostle V' 
injunction  must  pass  down  through  all  ages. 
It  is  as  important  for  us,  to  beware  lest  any 
mnn  should  spoil  us  through  philosophy  and 
human  traditions,  as  it  was  for  the  Colossians. 
And  the  reason  of  the  injunction  is  equally  val- 
uable to  us,  that  in  Christ  as  our  single,  glori- 
ous, head,  we  have  all  that  we  need.  Our  pro- 
fession does  not  require  the  help  of  human  tra- 
ditions; for  in  Christ  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of 
the  godhead  bodily;  we  do  not  want  other  insti- 
tutions, superadded  by  human  authority,  to  pre- 
serve order,  harmony,  and  peace  m  the  church; 
for  we  are  complete  in  him,  without  any  of 
them.  Or,  in  other  words,  the  church  witli  her 
Bible  and  ordinances  in  their  own  divine  ar- 
rangement, is  sufficiently  provided  for  by  her 
master,  without  human  Creeds,  or  summaries  af 


245 

moral  duties,  framed  for  her  direction  by  human 
wisdom.  The  church,  in  her  own  spiritual  unity, 
is  in  a  better  state,  than  under  any  voluntary  as- 
sociations which  can  be  formed  on  any  princi- 
ple whatever. 

He  is  still  more  particular  in  his  address  to 
this  church ;  and  continuing  his  exhortation,  for- 
bids her  members  to  suffer  any  man  to  "judge 
them  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  an 
holy-day — or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sabbath 
days."  He  charges  them  to  "let  no  man  beguile 
them  of  their  reward  in  a  voluntary  humility, 
and  worshipping  of  angels,  intruding  into  those 
things  which  he  hath  not  seen,  vainly  puffed  up 
by  his  fleshy  mind;  and  not  holding  the  Head, 
from  which  all  the  body^  by  joints  and  bands 
having  nourishment  ministered,  and  knit  together^ 
increaseth  with  the  increase  of  GodP  And  on 
these  legislative  provisions  he  earnestly  reasons 
with  them:  endeavouring  to  demonstrate  to  them 
the  absolute  folly  of  submitting  to  human  insti- 
tutions. ^'Wherefore,"  says  he,  "if  ye  be  dead 
with  Christ  from  the  rudiments  of  the  world, 
why,  as  though  living  in  the  vvorld,  are  ye  sub- 
ject to  ordhuinces^  after  the  doctrines  and  com- 
nvmdinenls  of  men.'''  Manifestly  there  was 
nothing  of  which  this  maj^nanimous  apostle 
Wiis  so  much  afraid,  as  the  introduction  of  hu- 
ma-i  institutions  into  the  church;  or  the  interfer- 
ence of  hunutn  authority,  in  attempting  to  ^ive 
law  to  the  coriBviiynccs  of  ^^hrisl's  p'-.^fessing 
people.     It  would  not  avail  to  satisfv  hiin,  that 

21* 


2m 

Christians,  whose  spiritual  welfare  he  sought  s^- 
ardently  to  protect,  should  reply, — in  submitting 
to  these  ordinances  and  doctrines,  we  do  not 
esteem  them  as  paramount  to,  or  equal  with,  the 
scriptures;  for  we  cannot  imagine  that  they 
would  venture  to  defend  them  in  his  presence  as 
tests  of  orthoitoxy.  He  instantly  replies, — 
*'Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not:" — there  must 
be  no  compromise  here:  if  ye  are  dead  with 
Christ,  ye  must  have  "the  power  of  his  resur- 
rection" resting  upon  you. 

We  have  one  more  quotation,  which  we  thmk 
proper  to  transcribe.  It  is  from  the  epistle  to 
the  Ephesians.  The  apostle  is  speaking  of  the 
design  of  divine  institutions,  and  of  the  great 
things  which  they  were  made  sufficient  to  effect. 
He  tells  us  that  they  were  intended  to  per- 
fect the  saints,  to  fulfil  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
and  to  edify  the  body  of  Christ;  thus  embracing 
all  the  objects  of  practical  godliness,  and  every 
thing  that  belongs  to  communion  in  the  sanctu- 
ary; and  consequently  providing  for  all  those 
things,  around  which  Creeds  and  Confessions  pro- 
fessedly throw  all  their  influence.  Sectarian  divi- 
sions are  not  admitted,  nor  any  deficiency  in  their, 
arrangement  supposed.  But  on  the  contrary, 
these  institutions  are  considered  fully  adequate 
to  carry  the  church  through  the  whole  of  her 
militant  career,  and  bring  her  with  fulness  of 
joy  into  her  Master's  presence  at  last:- — "Till 
we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect 


247 

man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  h\X- 
ness  of  Christ;  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more 
children,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  by 
every  ivind  of  doctrine,  by  the  slight  of  men  and 
cunning  craftiness  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to 
deceive.  But,  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may 
grow  up  into  him  in  all  things,  whicli  is  the 
Head,  even  Christ;  from  \s\\om,  the  uihole  body, 
fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that 
which  every  joint  suppli^^th,  accorihng  to  the 
effectual  working  in  every  part,  maketh  increase 
of  the  body,  to  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love."  Now 
here  are  unity,  harmony,  reciprocal  love,  pros- 
perity, and  perfection  itself,  ascribed  to  the  sim- 
ple operation  of  divine  institutions.  And  what 
more  can  we  want?  Surely  the  advocates  of 
Creeds  can  show  nothing  like  it,  in  the  whole 
liistory  of  their  voluntary  associations. 

Thus  the  apostles  left  the  church  when  they 
went  to  glory.  So  the  church  continued  for  some 
time,  if  Irenaeus  records  truth  in  summing  up 
her  doctrines,  as  they  were  uniformly  believed, 
and  which  she  "assiduously  preserved  as  if  she 
inhabited  a  single  house."  And  so  in  fact,  she 
continued,  if  Jerome  speaks  truth,  until,  "by  the 
instigation  of  the  devil,  parties  in  religion'''^  arose ; 
"and  it  was  said  among  different  people,  I  am 
of  Paul,  and  I  of  Jlpollos,  and  1  of  Cephas; 
and  until  "every  one  accounted  those  whom  he 
baptised  as  belonging  to  himself,  and  not  to 
Christ.''''  So  then  these  voluntary  associations, 
like  Creeds  and  Confessions,  synods  and  coun- 
cils, are  all  to  be  traced  to  the  same  source,. 


S48 

Destitute  of  a  divine  warrant,  they  are  the  ofl^ 
spring  of  human  ambition,  and  merely  keep  alive 
the  contest  for  tixrones. 

We  must  then  be  permitted  to  deny,  that  any 
body  of  christians  has  any  right  to  separate  from- 
other  christians;  and,  walking  upon  their  own 
principles,  to  administer  Christ's  ordinances 
upon  terras  which  shall  exclude  Christ's  people 
from  the  benefits  of  his  sanctuary.  We  speak 
not  of  a  civil  7io;fit.  Political  rulers  have  noth- 
ing to  do  in  Christ's  sanctuary,  except  as  poor, 
unworthy,  perishing  sinners,  like  all  the  rest  of 
their  race,  to  plead  for  pardon  and  life  as  the 
free  gifts  of  his  own  undeserved  mercy.  We 
do  not  dispute  with  our  brethren  about  such 
things,  nor  arraign  them  at  such  a  tribunal. 
The  transactions  of  the  council  of  Nice,  ought 
to  have  frightened  the  whole  christian  vorld, 
from  that  day  to  this  away  from  every  appeal 
of  this  kind  We  congratulate  ourselves  that 
civil  power  has  nothing  to  do  with  our  present 
controversy,  but  to  let  it  alone;  and  that  we 
live  in  a  country,  where  our  rulers  have  had  good 
sense  and  magnanimity  enough,  to  see  and  aban- 
don the  mistakes  of  our  fathers  on  this  subject. 
The  moral  question  about  which  we  differ  must 
be  tried  at  the  bar  of  God's  word,  and  we  must 
receive  our  sentence  thence.  And  in  this  view 
we  liinst  be  understood,  when  we  deny  these 
secessini  principles: — we  ask  for  the  seal  of  the 
king  of  saints;  and  when  this  is  obiained,  we 
have  nothing  more  to  say.     W  ill  the  brethren 


H9 

be  good  enougli  to  produce  it,  that  this  contra* 
versy  may  be  closed  for  ever? 

We  are  very  much  surprised,  when  scripture 
precepts  like  the  following,  are  introduced 
to  condemn  our  opinions: — ''Be  ye  perfectly 
joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and  in  the  same 
judgment."  We  know  it  is  a  very  easy  thing 
to  quote  scripture,  and  that  it  is  very  often  done 
w  ith  great  thoughtlessness  and  inaccuracy ;  but 
this  is  too  glaring.  Did  the  apostle  mean,  when 
he  thus  commanded  the  Corinthians,  that  those 
who  were  of  Paul,  should  go  and  form  a  volun- 
tary association  by  themselves;  and  that  those 
who  were  of  Apollos,  should  go  and  form  a  vol- 
untary association  by  themselves ;  and  that  those 
who  were  of  Cephas,  should  go  and  form  a  vol- 
untary association  by  themselves;  and  that  those 
who  were  of  Christ,  should  go  and  form  a  vol- 
untary association  by  themselves  ?  Why  surely 
every  man,  who  reads  the  words  in  their  own 
connexion,  must  see,  that  this  is  a  pure  bur- 
lesque on  all  scriptural  investigation.  So  far 
from  this  being  the  fact,  the  apostle  exhorted 
them  to  be  of  one  mind  by  quitting  their  divi- 
sions: his  words  are — "Now  I  beseech  you, 
brethren,  by  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  ye  all  speak  the  same  thing,  and  that  there 
be  no  divisions  amoni^  you;  but  that  ye  be  per- 
fectly joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and  in 
the  same  judgment;  "moreover  our  brethren  will 
not  say,  that  a  conmiand  to  separate  from  the 
unholy,  means  that  we  should  separate  from  the 
holy.''     They   will   not  say  that  a  command  to 


250 

reject  unbelievers,  means  that  we  should  reject 
believers?  Yet,  by  our  voluntary  associations^ 
are  not  christians  shut  out  from  Christ's  ordi- 
nances; and  christian  ministers  denied  their  seats 
in  Christ's  heavenly  places?  Are  not  those,  who 
are  giving  every  evidence  by  which  their  chris- 
tian character  can  be  substantiated,  refused  the 
privileges  which  Christ  purchased  for  them  by 
the  shedding  of  his  blood?  And  do  not  chris- 
tians themselves, decline  receiving  the  ordinances 
of  grace,  at  the  hands  of  ministers  whom  the 
Master  has  owned,  and  blessed,  and  honoured, 
in  his  holy  providence.  0,  our  brethren  must 
not  talk  about  the  excellence  and  blessedness  of 
their  voluntary  associations.  They  are  no  bless- 
ing; they  are  a  curse,  to  the  church  of  God. 

It  is  true,  our  sects  are  beginning  to  relax  the 
reins  of  despotic  government,  and  are  growing 
more  liberal  in  their  ideas  and  plans.  The  state 
is  fatigued  by  her  connexion  with  the  church, 
and  politicians  have  long  since  seen  the  folly  of 
such  a  union.  Our  voluntary  associations  them- 
selves, are  tired  of  their  strife  and  their  separa- 
tion; and  the  spirit  of  unity  is  guiding  her  car 
of  triumph  over  all  their  divisions.  But  then 
all  this  is  a  practical  fact,  proving  our  doctrine ; 
and  an  abandonment,  as  far  as  it  goes,  of  the 
very  principle  which  they  advocate; — a  subject 
which  deserves  to  be  considered  by  itself,  and 
which  we  shall  take  up  in  our  next  section. 


251 


SECTION  6. 

Before  we  close  our  discussion  upon  the  sub- 
ject o;"  human  legislation  m  the  clmrclj  of  God, — ■ 
-a  matter  of  religious  argument,  which  is  every 
day  growing  more  important  and  interesting; 
there  is  one  other  view  which  we  wish  to  offer 
to  the  serious  consideration  of  the  reader,  and 
which,  we  think,  we  can  establish  to  his  eniire 
satisfaction.  It  is  this: — Thai  these  Creeds  and 
Confessions  of  Failh^  ate  every  day  i^roimng  into 
disuse^  and fldlfnn;  by  their  onm  weight;  society 
beinn;  both  unwilling  and  unable  to  bear  the  liecwy 
burden  any  longei\  In  other  words,  they  are 
practically  abandoned  by  tiie  very  sects  which 
have  adopted  and  proclaimed  them;  and  no  man 
can  tell  the  real  Creed  of  our  voluntary  associ- 
ations, by  their  public  standards.  The  particu- 
lar form  in  which  they  are  now  sustained,  is  as  a 
matter  of  ecclesiastical  order,  or  as  a  rule  by 
which  mere  authority  may  be  measured. 

We  do  not  know  how  far  this  proposition 
maybe  conceded;  and  therefore  feel  under  some 
responsibility  to  make  it  good  Some,  perhaps, 
may  grow  very  angry  at  the  suggestion,  and  at- 
tempt to  argue  it  down ;  and  we  are  contented 
they  should  do  so,  if  it  be  not  true.  But  the 
fact  is  certainly  apparent  to  every  man,  who  has 
calmly  and  candidly  reviewed  the  present  state 
of  religious  society.  Besides,  many  have 
^yxphciUy   declared    it;    some    telling  it   as    a 


252 

wiatter  of  grievous  complaint,  as  though  those 
TV  ho  liad  donp  what  the  propobition  asserts  they 
have  done,  had  well  nigh  been  guilty  of  '•lying  to 
the  Holy  Ghost  ^"  and  others,  as  a  mere  matter 
of  argument,  who  yet  would  not  accede  to  the 
doctrine  of  these  pages.  In  the  mouth  of  two 
or  three  witnesses,  shall  every  word  be  estab- 
lished:" and  they  are  good  and  substantial  wit- 
nesses, whose  testimony  no  one  will  dispute, 
whom  we  shall  summon  to  testify  to  what  we 
have  said. 

Dr  Miller,  in  his  introductory  lecture  to  his 
pupils,  makes  the  following  statement: — "These 
formularies, — if  they  be  really  an  epitome  of 
the  word  of  God — and  surely  we  think  them 
so — every  minister  is  bound  to  circulate  icilh  un- 
wearied assidmty  among  the  people  of  his  charge. 
This  is  so  far,  in  genercd.,  from  being  faithfully 
done,  that  I  seriously  doubt  whether  there  be  a 
Protestant  church  in  Christendom,  in  which 
there  is  so  striking  a  defect  as  to  the  discharge 
of  this  duty.)  especially  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  as  in  the  Presbyterian  church."  After 
a  warm  eulogium  upon  the  more  faithful  conduct 
of  our  Episcopal,  Methodist,  and  Baptist  breth- 
ren, which,  he  says,  "bespeaks  men  sincere  in 
their  belief  and  earnest  in  the  dissemination  of 
what  they  deem  correct  principles," — and  of 
course  he  exonerates  them  from  any  charge  of 
'Mying  to  the  Holy  Ghost,"  leaving  that  awful 
sin  at  the  door  of  less  faithful  Presbyterians, — the 
Doctor  proceeds; — '*Why  is  it  that  so  many  min- 
isters of  the  Presbyterian  church,  with  a  Con- 


^53 

fession  of  Faith,  and  Catechism,  which  I  verily 
believe,  and  which  the  most  of  them  readily  ac- 
knowledge, are  by  far  the  best  that  were  ever 
framed  by  uninspired  wisdom;  and  with  a  form 
of  government  and  discipline,  more  consenta- 
neous with  apostolical  practice,  than  that  of  any 
other  church  on  earth,  are  yet  so  negligent^  not  to 
say  so  indifferent^  as  to  tlie  circulation  of  these  for- 
mularies?  They,  perhaps,  do  not  take  tlie  trouble 
even  to  inquire  ivhether  there  he  a  copy  of  the  vol- 
ume that  contains  them^  in  every  family.,  or  even 
in  every  neighbourhood.,  of  their  respective  charges. 
How  are  we  to  account  for  the  peculiar  frequency 
of  this  negligence  in  the  ministry  of  our  church? 
It  would  be  t'ar  from  being  true,*  I  trust,  to  say, 
that  our  clergy  are  more  unfaithful  in  the  general 
discharge  of  their  duties,  than  those  of  any  other 
communion.  May  we  not  rather  ascribe  the  fact 
in  question  to  another  fact,  from  which  it  might 
be  expected  naturally  to  arise?  The  fact  to  which 
I  allude,  is,  that  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  at  the 
present  day,  rid  in  this  country — whatever  may 
have  been  the  case  in  former  times — there  is  less 
of  sectarian  feeling;  less  of  what  is  called  the 
esprit  du  corps.,  than  in  any  other  ecclesiastical 
body  among  us.*"f 
There  appears  to  bei  in  this,  a  biting  sarcasm  for 

*  And  yet  it  must  be  true,  according  to  the  general  argument  of 
the  Lecture,  which  connects  iieresy,  atid  the  worst  of  lieresies 
too,  with  the  iiliiuulotinient  of  Creeds  and  Confessions,  and  tliat 
iu  a  manner  so  plain,  that  he  must  he  very  dull,  who  cannot  un- 
rltrstand  it. 

t  p.  p  77.  79. 

22 


254 

some  one:  but  we  do  not  exactly  know  to  whom  it 
properly  belongs — whether  to  our  Presbyterian, 
Episcopal,  Methodist,  or  Baptist  brethren.  Per- 
haps the  Professor  wished  to  praise  all,  or  to 
censure  all,  or  to  please  all.  We  do  not  know 
how  to  take  it.  We  believe,  however,  there  is 
a  kind  of  rule  in  polite  circles,  to  consider  any 
equivocal  article  of  this  kind  as  a  compliment. 
We  shall  adopt  the  rule  in  the  present  case  with 
cheerfulness — for  every  man  loves  to  see  his 
own  party  ahead;  and  when  works  of  charity, 
or  a  labour  of  love,  are  the  matter  in  question, 
it  is  perhaps  hard  to  disown  the  feeling; — though 
certainly  we  do  wish  that  all  other  religious 
sects  may  not  only  do  as  much  as  Presbyterians 
are  doing;  but  may  very  far  surpass  them  in 
any  thing  they  have  yet  done,  in  order  that  men 
may  be  brought  to  feel  all  that  is  genial  and  re- 
freshing in  the  sympathies  of  their  nature; — 
particularly,  when  those  sympathies  are  sancti- 
fied by  the  grace  of  the  gospel.  But  Dr.  M. 
has  very  happily  explained,  by  t!mi  natural  con- 
nexion between  cause  and  effect^  the  very  thing 
he  seemed  to  feel  as  a  most  serious  and  unac- 
countable difficulty:  and  he  is,  if  we  understand 
our  own  doctrine,  offering  to  the  public  the  very 
same  views,  for  which  we  have  been  censured,  and 
even  ridiculed.  Let  us  state  it  in  our  own  lan- 
guage. Living  facts,  which  every  man  may  see, 
have  demonstrated,  that  Creeds  and  Confessions 
are  losing  their  influence  over  the  christian  mind: 
tKat  our  voluntary  association  has  outgrown  her 
ewH  "standards ;"  and  that  our  ministers,  catch- 


255 

mg*  the  spirit  of  the  age  in  which  they  live,  or 
yielding  to  its  force,  have  practically  abandoned 
an  ecclesiastical  measure,  which, — "whatever 
may  have  been  the  case  in  former  times," — is  now 
utterly  impracticable.  The  Presbyterian  clergy 
are  generahsing  their  feelings  and  their  plans; 
they  are  exercising  great  forbearance  towards 
those  who  misrepresent  them;  and  they  are  loath 
to  enter  into  strife  with  any.  A  happy  change! 
A  glorious  sign  of  the  times!  We  wish  it  may 
be  all  true:  and  soon,  far  more  true  than  it  is; 
so  true,  that  they  may  cease  to  contend  with  one 
another. — May  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  carry  on 
this  glorious  work,  until  "the  Lord  shall  be 
king  over  all  the  earth!"  Until  that  day,  when 
"there  shall  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one!" 
And  this  shall  be  the  result.  The  cause  of  love, — 
blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ, — is  too  far  ahead  to  be 
arrested.  Our  Bible  societies  must  be  crushed; 
our  missionaries  must  be  called  in  from  their 
labours;  and  all  those,  whose  spirits  are  burning 
with  evangelical  enterprise,  must  be  driven  fai- 
away,  like  the  Puritans  of  old,  to  live  as  pen- 
sioners upon  pagan  hospitality,  before  it  can  be 
done.  And  at  this,  we  know,  there  are  many 
zealous  adv^ocates  of  Creeds  and  Confessions, 
who  would  quickly  frown. 

In  another  part  of  his  lecture.  Dr.  M.  mak^s 
the  following  most  painful  and  overwhelming 
remarks; — "It  is  truly  humiliating  and  distress- 
ing to  know,  that  in  some  churches  it  has  gra- 
dually become  customary,  to  consider  articles 


25Q 

of  faith  as  merely  articles  of  peace;  in  other 
V  ords,  as  articles,  which,  he  who  subscribes,  is 
iiut  considered  as  professijig  to  believe:  but  mere- 
ly as  engaging  not  to  oppose — at  least  in  any 
public  or  offensive  manner.  Whether  we  bring 
this  principle  to  the  test  of  reason,  of  scripture^ 
of  the  original  design  of  Creeds,  or  of  the  ordi- 
nary import  of  language  among  honourable 
men ; — -it  seems  equally  liable  to  the  severest  re- 
probation, as  disreputable  and  criminal,  in  a  very 
high  degree.  Nor  does  it  appear  to  me  to  be 
any  alleviation,  either  of  the  disgrace  or  the  sin^ 
that  many  of  the  governors  of  the  churches  re- 
ferred to,  as  well  as  those  who  subscribe,  pub- 
licly avow  their  adoption  of  this  principle; 
admit  the  correctness  of  it;  keep  each  other  in 
countenance;  and  thus  escape,  as  they  imagine, 
the  charge  of  hypocrisy.  What  would  be  thought 
of  a  similar  principle,  if  generally  adopted  and 
avowed,  with  respect  to  the  administration  of 
oaths  in  civil  courts?  Suppose  both  jurors  and 
witnesses,  feeling  it  a  grievance  to  be  bound  by 
their  oaths  to  speak  the  truth,  were  to  agree 
among  themselves,  and  openly  to  give  out,  that 
they  did  not  mean,  when  they  swore,  to  take  on 
themselves  any  such  obligation:  that  they  did 
not  so  understand  the  import  of  their  oaths,  and 
did  not  intend  to  recognise  any  such  meaning? 
And  suppose  the  judges  were  freely  to  admit 
them  to  their  oaths  with  a  similar  understanding? 
Would  a  witness  or  a  juror,  in  such  a  case,  be 
exempt  from  the  charge  of  perjury,  or  the 
judge  from  the  guilt  of  subornation,  of  pebc 


257 

TURY?  1  presume  not,  in  the  estimation  of  any 
sober  minded  man.  If  it  were  otherwise,  then 
bad  men,  who  form  a  majority  of  ev^ery  commu- 
nity, might,  by  combining,  violate  all  the  princi- 
ples of  virtue  and  order,  not  only  with  impunity, 
but  also  without  sin."* 

The  foregoing — we  write  it  with  deep  and 
mournful  feeling — is  one  of  the  most  awful  para- 
graphs we  remember  ever  to  have  read,  since 
books  were  first  put  into  our  hands.  For  if  we 
should  admit  it  to  be  true,  what  then.''  If  jurors 
and  witnesses,  and  judges,  in  civil  courts,  were 
to  act  thus,  what  would  the  consequence  be? 
Must  not  revolution  and  ruin  follow?  Would 
not  God  be  avenged  on  such  a  nation  as  this? — 
And  what  but  similar  results  can  occur  in  the 
church,  if  found  in  similar  circumstances?  But 
are  not  these  honourable  men?  Are  they  not  use- 
ful men?  And  shall  we  approach  them  with  such 
a  charge?  Is  any  man  bound  to  keep  an  oath, 
the  subject  matter  of  which  oath,  is  not  lawful? 
And  if  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  thus  embar-* 
rassed  by  Creeds,  has  not  the  church  magnanim- 
ity enough  to  part  with  ecclesiastical  instru- 
ments, whose  character  is  betrayed  to  be  so  bad, 
by  their  own  practical  operation?  Heaven's 
bride  should  be  dressed  in  robes,  white  as  the 
driven  snow.  Her  ministers  should  possess  all 
that  is  lovely,  excellent,  and  elegant,  in  the  chris- 
tian profession,  like  thos^^  who  can  say, 

*p.  p  69,  70. 


2m 

"I  will  greatly  rejoice  in  Jehovah; 

BIy  soul  shall  exult  in  my  God, 

For  he  hath  clothed  me  with  the  garments  of  salvation; 

lie  hath  covered  me  with  the  mantle  of  righteousness: 

As  the  bridegroom  decketh  himself  with  a  priestly  crown, 

And  as  the  bride  adorneth  herself  with  her  costly  jewels."* 

But  leaving  this  harsh  opinion  of  the  conduct 
of  men,  who  evidently  feel  themselves  most 
grievously  oppressed  by  these  human  rules,  and 
whose  consciences  are  vexed  by  such  arbitrary 
law,  does  not  the  fact  confirm  our  proposition? 
If  Creeds  ai'e  become  articles  ofpeace^ — which, 
by  the  way,  is  an  amusing  use  of  terms, — instead 
of  articles  of  faith.,  are  they  not  practically 
abandoned?  For  while  they  do  not  possess  a 
sort  of  ubiquity,  whereby  they  can  be  tests  of 
orthodoxy,  where  they  are  not  visible;  neither 
are  bonds  of  union,  nor  guardians  of  truth, 
where  they  are  not  to  be  found ;  they  cannot  be 
considered  as  a  rule  of  faith,  where  they  have 
been  converted  into  mere  articles  of  peace.  And 
are  these  ministers,  about  whom  such  things,  when 
said  in  relation  to  their  sectarian  standards,  are 
true,  declining  into  heresy,  abandoning  the  word 
of  God,  and  sinking  into  sloth,  as  to  "the  gene- 
ral discharge  of  their  duties"?  Then  why  de- 
clare these  human  institutions  to  be  in  force 
when  they  are  not?  Or,  why  condemn  us  for 
translating  facts  into  words,  or  uttering  with 
our  lips,  what  men:  are  demonstrating  by  their 
lives.'' — "-Therefore,  thou  art  inexcusal3le,  O- 
man,  whosoever  thou  art  that  judgest:  for  where- 
in thou  judgest  another,  thou  condemnest  tby- 

*  Is.  61-  10.  Lowth. 


259. 

self;  for  thou  tliat  judgest  doest  the  same  things.'*' 
Another  witness  on  this  subject  is  tiie  Chris- 
tian Spectator;  a  popular  miscellany,  whose 
writers,  it  is  presumed,  must  understand  some- 
thing about  it.  In  the  pages  of  that  woJ"k,  it  is,. 
in  some  measure,  professedly  discussed,  as  cir- 
cumstances have  forced  it  upon  the  public  atten- 
tion. A  writer  in  the  christian  disciple  had  as- 
serted, that,  "-the  Westminster  Confession  and 
Catechisms,  are  the  jmblic  standards  of  faith 
in  the  Presbyterian  and  Scotch  churches  in  this 
country;  that  the  Saybrook  Platform  is  the  pro- 
fessed standard  of  the  Calvinism  of  Connecti- 
cut, &c."  With  this  assertion,  the  Reviewer, 
in  the  Spectator,  is  very  much  offended;  and, 
among  other  remarks,  makes  the  following: — 
"It  is  true,  tliat  these  formularies  are  regarded 
by  Calvinists  in  this  country,  as  containing  a 
doctrinal  system,  which,  whatever  imperfections 
and  errors  may  belong  to  it,  is  in  its  general  fea- 
tures in  accordance  with  the  scriptures.  But 
we  ask  for  the  proof  that  there  is  any  such 
public  profession  of  the  Creed  contained  in  these 
formularies;  any  such  recognition  of  them 
as  standards  of  faith  by  Calvinistic  ministers 
and  churches  as  the  Reviewer  asserts;  any 
which  shows  that  the  ministers  and  churches 
actually  adopt,  as  their  faith^  every  article  of 
these  formularies  in  its  precise  form  and  state- 
ment. We  say  that  such  is  not  the  fact^  and 
that  it  is  notorious  that  it  is  not  the  fact.  There 
is  no  subscription  to  these  formularies  by  Cal- 
vinistic ministers  or  churches,  no  such  use  made 


-260 

of  them,  no  such  recos^iition  of  their  auihorily 
in  matters  offa'dh^  in  any  form  whatever^  as  will 
warrant  the  representation  of  the  Reviewer. 
Decisive  to  the  contrary  are  the  freedom  of 
religious  opinions  among  Calvinists,  in  regard  to 
several  points  treated  of  in  these  formularies  "* 

Again. — "To  talk  then  of  Creeds  pnblicly 
professed^  and  of  public  standards  of  Jaiih^  as 
if  there  were  any  such  thing  existing,  in  the 
manner  and  form  in  which  the  Revie\ver  would 
have  it  understood,  is  a  mere  trick  at  imposition. 
It  is  representing  the  religious  faith  of  the  great 
portion  of  this  community,  as  so  absolutely  tied 
to  Creeds  and  formularies  of  human  formation, 
that  they  cannot,  with  good  conscience,  fail  of 
believing  every  doctrinal  iota  they  contain; 
a  representation  ivhich  every  sciolist  in  the  eccle- 
siastical history  of  this  country  knoicsto  hefcdse. 
It  is  in  the  present  instance  asserting  a  unifor- 
mity of  faith  among  the  Calvinists  of  this  coun- 
try, which  does  not  exist,  and  which  they,  who 
assert  it,  know  and  abundantly  confess  does  not 
exist."! 

These  remarks  from  the  christian  Spectator, 
embrace  the  whole  subject  of  subscription  to 
Creeds;  and  very  materially  modify  the  view, 
which  is  taken  by  some,  of  the  principle  of  con- 
tracts in  the  church.  The  value  of  this  whole  pro- 
cess, adopted  to  secure  the  purity  of  the  church, 
is  brought  dow^n  exceedingly  low:  and  the  charge 
of  perjury  is  as  honourably,  as  it  is  indignantly,, 
thrown   off    from  the   ministerial  conscience. 

"  Vol.  6.  No.  7.  360—74.        t  p.  p.  372—3. 


261 

There  ouglit  to  be  no  such  contracts  in  the  house 
©f  God.  When  God  sends  his  ministers  ta 
preach,  and  calls  upon  the  people  to  hear,  his 
own  law  prescribes  their  reciprocal  duties.  All 
those  sectarian  notions,  which  require  a  minister 
to  preach  according  to  a  human  Creed,  or  which 
forbid  him,  as  in  former  times,  to  "fall  into  any 
common  place  of  divinity  in  his  sermons,  not 
compreJiended  in  the  39  articles^''''  are  passing, 
under  general  reprobation,  into  a  much  to  be 
wished  for  forgetfubie&s.  Men  are  every  where 
beginning  to  imagine,  that,  however  profoundly, 
or  ingeniously,  or  scripturally,  their  fathers  might 
have  thought,  they  yet  have  a  right  to  think  for 
themselves,  as  well  as  their  fathers  had  to  think 
for  themselves:  and  whether  it  be  vanity  and 
self-conceit,  or  not,  they  imagine  they  can  think 
just  as  well  as  their  fathers,  for  all  the  purposes 
which  can  require  the  application  of  their  pow- 
ers of  thought  to  the  circumstances  of  life.  And 
why  should  they  not  imagine  so }  Or  why  should 
any  principle  of  contracts  obtain  in  the  church, 
by  which  they  should  be  prevented  from  think- 
ing for  themselves?  Is  it  an  ascertained  matter 
that  they  mu.st  think  WTong.''  Or  is  it  supposed, 
that,  surrounded  by  temptations  of  every  variety 
of  hue,  they  will  become  unfaithful,  and  prove 
that  they  are  not  honourable,  christian,  men? 
Then  what  will  human  Creeds  do  for  them?  Will 
they  convert  Arians;  transform  Arminians  into 
Calvinists;  or  compel  the  Universal ist  to  believe 
in  the  doctrine  of  "particular  redemption"? — 
Be  these  things  as  they  may,  such  is  the  course 


262 

the  religious  mind  is  taking  in  this  free  commu^ 
nity,  and  this  liberal  age :  and  the  effort  to  ar- 
rest it,  will  be  as  impotent  as  that  which  touches 
the  motto  of  Bible  societies — tlie  Bible^  without 
note  or  comment. 

But,  leaving  these  extracts  to  speak  for  them- 
selves, we  must  now  inquire  after  some  facts, 
which  every  man  may  know,  and  on  which  every 
man  is  fully  competent  to  judge.  Would  our 
brethren,  or  do  they,  make  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith,  as  it  has  been  received  by 
their  own  denomination,  a  term  of  communion 
for  private  christians?  We  know  they  will  re- 
commend it  as  a  very  good  book:  but  that  is  not 
the  question.  Will  they  require  them  to  believe 
it,  or  even  to  read  it,  before  they  can  be  admit- 
ted to  christian  fellowship  in  religious  ordinan- 
ces.^ We  know  they  will  not; — whether' from 
want  of  power,  or  want  of  disposition,  it,  per- 
haps, does  not  become  us  to  say:  but  one  thing 
is  certain,  the  attempt  would  break  the  Presby- 
terian churches  to  pieces.  Dr.  M.  himself, 
whose  lecture  has  proclaimed  some  very  harsh 
things  on  the  subject  of  subscription,  in  a  letter 
published  since  his  lecture  was  given  to  the 
world,  says — "It  is  time  enough,  in  my  opinion, 
when  persons  make  inquiries  with  a  view  to  join 
a  particular  denomination,  or  put  themselves  in 
the  way  of  being  taught  its  peculiarities,  to  meet 
them — if  candidates  for  private  membership,  with 
those  views  of  doctrine  and  order; — or  if  aspir- 
ants to  the  ministry,  with  those  'Creeds  and 
Confessions' — the  reception  of  which  appears 


a6S 

lo  me  indispensable  to  the  attainment  of  eccle- 
siastical concord  and  edification."'  Surely  in 
consistency  with  this  opinion,  private  christians 
tire  not  to  be  perplexed  with  the  church  Creed: 
the  minister,  it  is  presumed,  must  be  the  Creed 
of  his  people.  So  then,  either  christians  are 
not  the  churchy  or  Dr.  M.  himself  has  abandon^ 
ed  our  Creed  as  a  church  fwmulary? 

For  whom,  then,  are  Creeds  designed.''  For 
ministers  and  elders .''  And  may  the  people  be 
left  with  their  Bibles  as  sufficient  instructors, 
and  permitted  to  think  for  themselves,  without 
endangering;  the  purity,  the  peace,  or  the  harmo- 
ny of  the  church?  Are  church  officers  the  only 
men  who  cannot  read  straight  lines  in  the  Bible? 
Are  they  alone  unfit  to  be  trusted,  notwithstand- 
ing that  their  responsibilities  to  their  master  are 
so  heavy?  Or  when  any  of  them  rebel  against 
such  an  implied  censure  upon  their  integrity, 
shall  all  the  rest  rise  up  in  their  might,  to  de- 
stroy their  influence,  and  reprobate  their  scru- 
ples, as  heresy?  Shall  the  ministry  of  reconci- 
liation employ  themselves  in  forging  chains  for 
each  other's  perpetual  slavery;  or  become  the 
unadvised  enemies  of  their  own  liberty?  Do 
they  estimate  freedom  of  thought  as  a  secondary, 
or  dangerous,  privilege;  or  can  they  succumb  to 
any  aristocratic  combinations  among  themselves? 
Iiave  they  forgotten  their  master's  law,  as  to 
their  mutual  relations — all  ye  are  brethren, 
or  his  "new  commandment,"  given  specially  to 
them,  that  they — love  one  another? 

But  even  taking  this  view  of  the  subject,  as 


264 

stating  the  proper  place  which  Creeds  and  Con- 
fessions should  occupy  in  the  church ;  have  they 
produced  unanimity  of  sentiment,  and  harmony 
of  feeling,  among  the  ministers  in  the  Presby- 
terian church?  Do  our  mmisters  all  think  alike, 
and  carry  out  the  same  doctrinal  system  without 
alienation  or  discord?  Take  for  an  example, 
the  doctrine  of  the  atonement: — do  they  ^\[ 
think  that  the  atonement  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is 
definite  and  limited?  Do  they  all  think  that  it 
is  indefinite  and  unlimited?  Or  is  there  any 
subject,  in  the  whole  range  of  theological  prin- 
ciples, on  which  ministers  in  our  own  denomi- 
nation differ  more  frequently,  and  more  unex- 
pectedly? Are  our  standards  indecisive?  Do 
they  take  neither  side,  or  do  they  take  both 
sides?  Or  do  not  the  clergy  treat  the  Creed  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  on  this  subject,  pre- 
cisely as  the  clergy  of  the  fourth  century  treated 
the  Creed  of  the  council  of  Nice; — L  e.  they  find 
things  in  it  reprehensible  in  the  forms  of  expres- 
sion? Have  our  church  courts  followed  out  a 
course  of  faithful  discipline,  and  excluded  from 
ministerial  fellowship,  those  who  have  wandered 
from  the  ideas  and  phraseology  of  their  own 
standards?  Will  the  highest  ecclesiastical  tribu- 
nal we  have,  undertake  to  arraign  those  who  are 
heretical  upon  this  all  important  point,  on  wliich- 
soever  party  the  charge  of  heresy  may  be  fairly 
fastened?  If  not, — and  the  impracticability  of 
such  a  measure  is  well  known — then  are  our 
standards,  so  far  as  this  matter  is  concei'ned, 
practically  abandoned;  and  on  that  subject,  they 


265 

form  a  piece  of  gratuitous,  lifeless  legislation, 
which  the  whole  church  has  not  power  to  carry 
out  into  execution. 

Let  us  go  a  step  farther,  and  see  if  the  official 
acts  of  our  Presbyteries,  do  not  continually  in- 
volve us  in  the  same  palpable  inconsistency? 
If  a  young  man  applies  for  licensure  or  ordina- 
tion, who  should,  in  the  course  of  examination, 
disclose  his  belief  in  the  unlimited  atonement 
of  Christ,  or  question  some  favourite  doctrines 
which  our  Creed  has  decided, —  will  our  Presby- 
teries, or  do  they,  refuse  to  license  or  ordain  him? 
Suppose,  in  order  to  have  a  fair  example,  ihat 
he  should  directly  except  to  this  proposition,  in 
the  third  chapter  of  the  Confession  of  Faith: — 
"The  rest  of  mankind,  God  was  pleased,  ac- 
co-ding  to  the  unsearchable  counsel  of  his  own 
will,  whereby  he  extendeth  or  withholdeth  mercy 
as  he  pleaseth,  for  the  glory  of  his  sovereign 
power  over  his  creatures,  to  pass  by,  and  to 
ordain  tliem  to  dishonour  and  wrath  for  their 
sin,  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  juctice;"  and 
tell  the  Presbytery  in  so  many  words,  that  he 
does  not  beWeve  it; — and  surely  the  case  is  not 
very  improbable,  among  a  set  of  beings  who  have 
hearls^  and  who  may  be  aniniated  by  a  love, 
kindred  to  that  which  brought  the  son  of  God  to 
die  for  sinners; — will  any  of  our  Presbyteries, 
or  do  they,  refuse  to  license  or  ordain  him?  Do 
they  even  feel  thenjselves  competent  to  enjoin 
silence  on  the  point  in  question;  or  can  they 
conceive,  that,  destroying  a  man's  personal  re- 

S6 


266 

sponsibility,  they  have  any  right  to  forbid  a 
minister  ot"  Christ  to  be  silent  on  any  subject 
of  divine  revelation?  Surely  if  these  things 
exist,  even  by  the  consent  of  church  courts,  then 
there  is  a  failure  to  carry  out  our  standards, 
and  that  on  the  part  of  their  executive  officers. 
They  are,  as  far  as  such  cases  can  prove  them 
so,  practically  abandoned.  Our  statement  is 
not  hypothetical  merely;  the  thing  does  real- 
ly and  truly  exist.  Dr.  M.  himself,  in  his 
introductory  lecture,  would  allow  forbearance 
"in  some  minor  details,"  and  justify  a  presby- 
tery, provided  the  points  excepted  '•'■were  of  lit- 
tle or  no  importance,  and  interfered  with  no  ar- 
ticle of  faith."  But  in  a  Creed^  what  is  not  an 
article  of  faith?*  Or  will  Dr.  M.  after  hav- 
ing in  such  awful  terms  abjured  them  in  that 
form,  consent  that  the  articles  of  our  Creed 
should  be  articles  of  ijeacel  And  in  the  cases 
specified, — which  do  exist  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Presbyterian  church, — is  there  an  interfer- 
ence with  articles  of  faith,  or  is  the  exception 
made  to  articles  of  minor  detail?  Whichsoever 
it  may  be,  so  far  as  the  case  extt^ds,  there  is 
an  abandonment  of  the  ecclesi-a«i  icai'  charter. 
We  must  go  one  step  further,  in  order  to  ob- 
serve the  full  range  of  this  official  dereliction. 
By  reference  to  the  Assembly's  digest,!  '^ve  find 
this  question ; — whether  a  man,  who  had  married 
his  deceased  wife's  half  brother's  daughter, 
should,  with  his  wife,  be  admitted  to  church  pri- 
vileges?   Had  he  married  his  ow  n  half-brother's 

*p.  p.  71,72.  tp.  103. 


267 

daug-hter,  it  is  presumed  the  parlies  must  liave 
been  excluded: — in  the  case  referred  to,  they 
were  admitted.  i\nother  question  of  the  same 
kind,  was  presented  two  years  after: — whether  a 
man,  who  had  married  his  deceased  wife's  sis- 
ter's daughter,  might,  with  his  wife,  be  admitted 
to  church  privileges?  If  he  had  married  his 
own  sister's  daughter,  it  is  presumed  the  parties 
would  have  been  excluded.  But  in  the  case 
referred  to,  it  was  finally  decided,  that,  provided 
it  -vas  consistent  with  the  existing  laws  of  the 
state,  and  the  peace  of  the  church,  where  it  had 
occurred,  the  parties  might  be  admitted.  In  the 
year  1804,  when  a  similar  case  was  brought  up 
to  the  Assembly,  they  say: — "As  great  diversity 
of  opinion  seems  to  exist  on  such  questions  in 
diirerent  parts  of  the  church,  so  that  no  absolute 
rule  can  be  enjoined  with  regard  to  Ihein^  that 
shall  be  universallij  bindings  and  consistent  with 
the  peace  of  the  church;  and  as  the  cases  in 
question  are  esteemed  to  be  doubtful^  the  Assem- 
bly is  constrained  to  leave  it  to  the  discretion  of 
the  inferior  judicatories,  to  act  according  to  their 
own  best  lights^  and  the  circumstances  in  which 
they  find  themselves  placed.'''''*  Now  in  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  which  the  Presbyterian  church 
is  bound  to  maintain  in  its  integrity.^  there  is  an 
absolute  rule  laid  down  in  the  following  words: — 
"The  man  may  not  marry  any  of  his  wife's  kin- 
dred nearer  in  blood  tlian  he  may  of  his  own; 
nor  the  woman  of  her  husband's  kindred  nearer 
in  blood  than  of  her  own."f     Here  then  is  an 

'p.  106.  tCh.  24.  Sec.  4. 


2m 

abandonment  of  our  public  standards  under  aii(>- 
ther  form,  positive  and  frequent,  and  that  by  the 
highest  judicatory  of  the  church.  The  whole 
matter  is  declared  to  be  doubtful^  and  it  is  refer- 
led  to  inferior  judicatories,  who  are  left  to  regu- 
late their  decisions  according  to  circumstances. 
We  know  very  well  that  the  subjects  referred 
to  in  the  Digest,  may  be  considered  by  many  as 
of  comparatively  little  importance;  for  it  is  not 
an  uncommon  thing  so  to  estimate  a  question  of 
social  morals,  particularly  when  it  is  brought 
alongside  of  a  form  of  taith.  Be  it  so;  but  that 
does  not  alter  the  principle  of  our  argument. 
One  alteration  may  lead  to  another,  and  ten 
thousand  amendments  may  be  justified  by  the 
same  train  of  reasoning.  If  truth,  if  doctrine, 
if  statute,  may  be  modified  to  meet  circumstances^ 
then  why  may  not  our  Creed  suffer  an  entire 
repeal,  should  circumstances  require  it.''  And  this 
is  precisely  the  thing  which  we  are  discussing,  as 
belonging  to  the  changes  of  the  day  in  which  we 
live.  In  fact,  this  loose  provision  for  matters  of 
minor  detail,  is  itself  an  abandonment  of  the 
Creed  principle  as  it  has  been  maintained,  and 
as  it  ought  to  be  maintained,  if  espoused  at  all. 
As  it  ought  to  be — because,  if  there  is  a  necessity 
for  a  Creed  at  all,  it  must  be  like  all  other 
things  i.  e.  the  more  perfect  it  is  made,  the  better 
it  must  be,  and  every  thing  that  is  taken  from  it, 
is  only  making  it  worse  than  it  really  was.  As 
it  has  been — for  the  assembly,  in  reply  to  some 
matter  of  reference  embracing  this  subject,  ad- 
dress   the   applicants   in   the    following   man- 


269 

uer: — "If  you  modify  any  part  of  our  standards, 
to  suit  these  men,  you  are  bound  by  t/ie  precedent^ 
to  modify  another  part  for  another  set  of  men, 
if  they  should  make  objections."  And  again — 
"Whilst  we  thus  exhort  you  to  receive  none, 
upon  any  modification  of  our  standards,  we  re- 
commend "to  you  a  conciliatory,  mild,  and  for- 
bearing conduct  to  those  who  are  out  of  our 
communion."*  But  now  there  are  matters  of 
small  moment  to  be  yielded ;  things  may  be  com- 
promised  for  the  peace  of  the  church; — in  short, 
those  doctrines,  which  have  hitherto  been  con- 
sidered as  vital^  are  undergoing  a  very  severe 
discussion,  and  have  created  an  endless  variety 
of  opinions  in  the  very  denomination  to  wiiich 
we  belong:  and  the  evil,  if  an  evil  it  is,  runs, 
not  only  through  our  private  intercourse,  but 
through  our  official  and  judicial  transactions; 
while  the  whole  clmrch  is  incapable  to  arrest  it. 
We  beg  to  be  considered  as  not  condemning 
these  things,  but  as  merely  stating  facts.  The 
thing  must  be  so;  there  is  no  help  for  it:  our 
Creeds  do  not  suit  tlie  spirit  of  the  age;  their 
terms  are  growing  obsolete ;  their  idiom  is  offen- 
sive; and  men  are  insisting,  that  if  religion  be 
preached  to  them  at  all,  it  must  be  in  such  a 
manner  that  they  can  understand  and  feel  it. 
"This  age  requireth  religious  truth  to  be  justi- 
fied, like  other  truths,  by  showing  its  benefits  to 
the  mind  itself,  and  to  society  at  large.  It  is  in 
vam  now  to  quote  the  opinions  of  saints  or  re- 

*  Dig.  p.  141—2. 

23 


210 

formers,  or  councils,  or  assemblies,  in  support 
of  any  truth."  Those  aberrations  from  sectarian 
standards,  to  which  we  have  referred,  are  the 
natural  and  necessary  consequences  of  the  state 
of  the  times  in  which  we  live;  and  instead  of 
becomino;  fewer  every  day,  they  must  be  multi- 
plied every  day;  sweeping  before  them  every  im- 
pediment, either  political  or  ecclesiastical,  which 
opposes  the  progress  of  the  human  mind.  In 
other  words,  our  Creeds  and  Confessions  are 
alto2;ether  disproportioned  to  the  objects  of  ec- 
clesiastical enterprise,  in  which  christians  in  this 
age  are  engaging  by  common  consent. — Such  is 
our  CREED  upon  this  subject,  which  we  leave  to 
the  reader  to  receive  or  reject,  as  he  pleases: — 
the  only  way  in  which  any  one  man  ought  to 
present  his  Creed  to  any  other  man. 

Every  man  naturally  thinks  his  own  Creed 
worth  defending,  when  brought  into  collision 
with  the  opinions  of  others.  And  as  we  have 
been  censured  for  our  supposed  ideas  on  this 
subject,  we  feel  ourselves  called  upon  to  express 
our  views. — The  gospel  was  unquestionably  in- 
tended for  all  mankind:  f^r  to  the  first  pair,  ere 
they  had  received  "a  man  from  the  Lord,"  was 
it  given,  when  God  revealed  it  as  the  character- 
istic fact  of  his  institutions  on  earth, —  "The 
seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  head  of  the 
serpent."  The  scriptures  uniformly  aiford  this 
representation  of  the  gospel,  and  protfer  no  doc- 
trine whatever  to  our  acceptance,  which  is  in- 
consistent with  that  representation.  It  is  the 
genius  and  the  glory  of  Christianity,    that  it 


271 

is  a  system  of  grace  without  being  a  system  of 
fatalisiii;  that  it  is  an  exalted  view  of  the  divine 
character,  and  a  perfect  exposition  of  moral 
principle,  most  liappiiy  suited  to  man  in  his 
lapsed  state;  and  that  it  flows  from  the  same 
fountain  of  goodness,  which  dispenses  its  favours 
upon  our  race,  from  pole  to  pole; — from  him 
who  "nitiketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on 
the  good,  and  sendelh  rain  on  the  just  and  on 
the  unjust."  That  it  has  not  been  preached  to 
all  men,  in  actual  fact,  is  a  matter  of  human 
guilt — or,  if  of  divine  severity,  it  is  in  condem- 
nation of  human  sin.  But  still,  this  great  ob- 
ject is  continually  kept  in  view,  and  the  agents 
of  divine  mercy  are  continually  approaching  to- 
wards it.  The  gospel  was  preached  to  Abra 
ham,  when  he  was  informed,  that  in  him^  and 
in  his  seed^  all  tlie  families  of  the  earth  should 
be  blessed.  The  apostles  were  commanded  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature:  they  ^'•re- 
ceived grace  and  apostleship,  for  obedience  to 
the  faith  among  all  nations;"  and  their  commis- 
sion has  been  transmitted  to  every  age; — at  this 
very  hour,  it  enjoins  its  arduous,  but  delightfid, 
duties  upon  us,  and  demands  its  own  magnifi 
cent  achievments  at  our  hands. 

This  moral  enterprise  nmst  not  only  be  under- 
taken; but  it  shall  certainly  be  accomplished, 
for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  has  s[)oken  it.  We 
have  promise  upon  promise,  and  propliecy  after 
prophecy,  whence  to  gather  encouragement  and 
assurance.  All  Christendom  has  taken  up  the 
subject ;  and  it  has  kindled  in  every  heart  the 


272 

holiest  enthusiasm.  Old  and  young,  rich  and 
poor,  learned  and  unlearned,  are  all  talking 
about  it;  and  from  every  temple  prayers  ascend, 
that  God  would  hasten  human  things  in  rapid 
movement  towards  the  glorious  reality.  And 
may  we  not  speak  in  harmonious  strains,  while 
others  are  shouting  tiie  praises  of  a  redeeming 
gospel,  as  she  takes  the  wings  of  the  morning, 
and  with  speed  seeks  to  bless  man  wheresoever  he 
may  be  found?  Is  all  that  we  hear  a  mere  siren 
song,  alluring  sectarian  zealots  from  their  in- 
tegrity.'^— if  in  declaring  what  we  feel,  we  have 
been  thought  visionary;  if  in  casting  our  mite 
into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  or  in  cheerfully 
giving  what  we  had  to  expend,  in  order  that  the 
full  tide  of  spiritual  life  may  sooner  make  the 
solitary  place  to  be  glad,  and  the  desert  to  rejoice 
and  blossom  as  the  rose,  we  have  been  thought 
"transported  by  the  visions  of  a  heated  fancy;" 
we  can  do  nothing  else  than  quietly  submit  to  a 
reproach,  which  is  altogether  undeserved;  or, 
when  an  opportunity  offers,  give  an  explanation 
of  our  views. 

We  have  not  attempted  to  systematise  the 
prophetic  writings,  nor  to  run  into  any  wild  con- 
jecture with  some  prophetic  symbol,  to  apologize 
for  our  extravagance;  but  have  simply  endea- 
voured to  avoid  the  reproach,  which  the  masrer 
himself  cast  upon  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees, 
because  they  were  ignorant  of  "the  signs  of  the 
times."  How  soon  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
shall  become  the  kinodoms  of  our  Lord  and  of 
his  Christ,  we  pretend  not  to  know ;  but  must  re- 


273 

joice  that  the  work  has  commenced,  and  is  now 
g:oing  on.  When  South  America  shall  be  en- 
tirely rid  of  her  oppressors,  and  political  liberty 
shall  have  established  her  individual  character  j 
when  Spain  shall  be  regenerated,  and  the  anni- 
versary of  Riego's  disgrace  shall  have  become 
the  anniversary  of  his  country's  freedom:  when 
Ethiopia  shall  have  stretched  out  her  hands  to 
God,  and  the  deserts  of  Africa  shall  be  fer- 
tilized by  the  dews  of  heaven;  when  the  sainte 
alliance  shall  be  broken  up,  and  its  political 
Creed  shall  no  more  fetter  the  human  mind; 
when  the  wandering  Jew  shall  be  brought  home, 
and  the  last  lingering  Turk  shall  kiss  our  Im- 
manuel's  sceptre;  when  the  aborigines  of  this 
land  shall  have  become  happy  and  prosperous, 
under  the  full  flow  of  that  sympathy,  which, 
while  it  would  bless  them,  would  throw  a  halo 
of  glory  around  these  United  States;  when  the 
human  mind  shall  be  fully  awaked  from  its  tor- 
por, and  become  mighty  enough  to  achieve  those 
revolutions,  which  shall  prepare  the  nations  of 
the  earth  to  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house,  when  it  shall  be  established  upon  the 
top  of  the  mountains; — we  have  never  dared  to 
calculate.  That  it  should  come  to  pass  in  a  day, 
in  a  year,  in  a  century,  would  require  a  voice 
like  God's,  and  messengers  of  grace  and  truth, 
rapid  as  the  lightnings  of  the  skies  But  surely, 
human  things  are  not  disjointed;  one  age  is  not 
disconnected  from  another  age;  and  great  events 
may  be  the  results  of  very  remote  causes.  If  the 
American   can  trace   his  present  independence 


214 

to  the  efforts  of  Puritans,  who  little  thought  they 
were  destined  to  people  a  new  world,  and  to 
spread  the  empire  of  liberty  from  the  eastern  to 
the  western  wave;  and  if,  in  investigating  the  ex- 
citing causes  which  agitated  their  bosoms,  and 
emboldened  their  spirits,  he  may  find  them  con- 
centrated in  the  plans  of  that  mighty  intellect 
that  once  illumed  Geneva;  surely  we  may 
dwell  with  the  holiest  rapture  upon  the  ultimate 
results  of  Bible  and  missionary  societies;  or  some 
more  perfect  institution,  which  may  one  day  be 
formed,  when  sectarian  prejudices  shall  have 
passed  away,  and  left  the  christian  bosom  free 
for  the  workings  of  divine  love; — when  the 
church  herself,  as  such,  shall  be  Jehovah''s  Bi- 
ble and  missionary  society.  If  facts  are  not 
false,  and  our  senses  have  not  acquired  the  art 
of  playing  the  sophist  with  our  consciences,  it 
cannot  be  extravagance  to  say,  that  the  causes 
of  a  universal  revolution  have  been  introduced, 
and  are  hourly  gathering  strength;  nor  can  there 
be  any  presumption  in  the  public  exhortation, 
that  summons  the  "co-workers  with  God"  to 
their  post,  that  mankind  may  be  blessed. 

Those  benevolent  institutions  are,  in  fact,  the 
reason  why  sectarian  Creeds  have  been  so  far, 
and  why  they  must  be  still  farther,  abandoned. 
Can  any  one  denomination  effect,  what,  even  in 
the  incipient  state  of  this  moral  revolution,  must 
noiLi  be  doiie,-^  Let  christians  speak  for  them- 
selves. Union  is  strength,  and  this  is  their  mot- 
to. Can  our  Creeds  enlighten  the  nations,  or 
dare  we  carry  them  to  the  heathen,  as  exposi- 


215 

tions  of  truth,  and  rules  of  practice?  Has  not 
all  Christendom  agreed,  that  the  Bible  shall  be 
given  without  note  or  comment?  And  has  not 
their  effort  been  characterised  by  a  reverting  in- 
fluence, to  break  up  their  own  party  distinctions? 
Was  it  to  be  supposed,  that  the  whole  world  was 
to  be  converted  without  human  Creeds:  and  that 
it  would  never  enter  the  heads  of  those  who  were 
engaged  in  such  plans,  that  the  Bible  was  enough 
for  them  too?  Could  any  one  imagine,  that, 
when  christians  would  consult  together,  and  dis- 
cover that  they  did  not  disagree  as  much  as  they 
had  thought,  they  would  not  throw  down  the 
partition  walls  which  divided  their  fellowship, 
and  separated  them  from  each  other?  And  now, 
when  so  much  has  been  done,  and  so  much  is 
doing:  when  the  watchmen  are  beginning  to  see 
eye  to  eye,  and  are  bespeaking  the  affections  of 
the  public  by  the  exchange  of  good  offices,  do 
any  expect  to  stem  the  current,  and  prevent  its 
failher  progress ?  They  appear  too  late.  Chris- 
ti.nis  have  found  out  something  else  to  do,  than 
to  contend  with  one  another.  They  have  en- 
tered into  league  with  the  Lord  of  Hosts;  they 
are  striving  to  set  up  the  banner  of  the  cross  in 
every  land ;  and  every  breeze  is  wafting  their 
praises  to  heaven,  that  they  have  been  preserved 
to  see  what  they  have  seen,  and  to  hear  what 
they  have  heard.  Hushed  then  be  every  tumult! 
Let  christians  cease  to  strive!  Nor  let  any 
thing  disturb  the  melody  of  that  song,  which 
angels,  and  missicmarii^s,  and  Bibles,  are  sing- 
ing, on  every  shore,  in  every  clime,  and  to  every 


^216 

eat,-^"dory  to  God  in  the  highest,  peace  on 
earth,  and  good  will  towards  men." — Come,  let 
our  response  be,  "Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  char- 
ity; but  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity:"  and 
let  there  be  one  universal  chorus,  harping  Jeru- 
salem's hymn,  in  loveliest  strains — 

"I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me.  Let  us 
go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.  Our  feet  shall 
stand  within  thy  gates,  O  Jerusalem.  Jerusalem 
is  builded  as  a  city  that  is  compact  together: 
Whither  the  tribes  go  up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord, 
unto  the  testimony  of  Israel,  to  give  thanks  un- 
to the  name  of  the  Lord.  For  there  are  set 
thrones  of  judgment,  the  thrones  of  the  house 
of  David.  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem:  they 
shall  prosper  that  love  thee.  Peace  be  within 
thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces. 
For  my  brethren  and  companions'  sake,  I  will 
now  say,  Peace  be  within  tliee.  Because  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord  our  God  I  will  seek  thy 
good." 


CONCLUSIONS. 


Perhaps  itmay  be  urged,  that  Creeds  and  Con- 
fessions are  now  in  force;  and  considering  this 
fact,  it  may  be  asked  what  is  to  be  done?  That 
the  church  is  involved  in  a  serious  difficulty  by 
the  existence  of  these  formularies,  and  by  their 
long  established  control  over  the  public  mind, 
cannot  be  denied,  even  by  those  who  argue  that 
they  are  sinful.  But  the  previous  question  as 
to  their  scriptural  legality  must  first  be  settled. 
If  it  be  demonstrated  that  they  are  illegal,  then 
our  brethren  have  as  much  concern  with  the  ex- 
isting difficulty,  as  we  can  have;  and  they  cannot 
be  permitted  to  retire  from  their  own  responsi- 
bilities. Whatever  may  be  done,  or  whatever 
may  not  be  done,  is  a  circumstance  which  can- 
not alter  the  scriptural  character  of  the  subject, 
of  which  we  have  been  writing.  It  by  no 
means  follows,  that  because  a  combination  has 
been  formed  by  human  authority,  it  is  therefore 
rig^ht,  and  must  be  sustained;  or,  that  the  sup- 
posed impracticability  of  escaping  from  its  do- 
minion, should  preclude  all  discussion  of  its 
morality.  If  it  does,  then  sin  has  found  an 
apology;  the  corruptions  of  the  human  heart, 

2i 


278 

which  it  is  so  hard  to  eradicate,  are  perfectly 
excusable;  and  every  aggressive  influence,  which 
the  gospel  exerts,  is  injudicious  and  reprehensible. 
Jf  it  does,  then  all  the  political  despotism,  with 
which  the  world  is  burdened,  is  to  be  defended 
and  endured,  no  matter  how  deeply  it  degrades 
immortal  spirits. 

We  do  not  wish,  however,  to  be  considered 
as  taken  by  surprise,  even  when  this  trouble- 
some question  is  stated.  And  if  our  voice  may 
at  all  be  heard  in  reply,  we  would  venture  to  make 
a  few  remarks. — Violent  revolutions  in  society, 
every  considerate  man  will  deprecate:  and  when 
they  come,  he  will  take  good  care  that  he  does 
not  share  the  guilt  of  producing  them.  He  may 
indeed  inveigh  against  the  irreligious  habits  of 
society;  for  every  minister  of  the  gospel  must 
declare  the  word  of  the  Lord,  whether  men  will 
hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear.  His  minis- 
terial efforts  may  rouse  the  wrath  of  those  to 
whom  he  addresses  his  message;  a  whole  com- 
munity may  be  thrown  into  fearful  commotion; 
and  he  himself  may  be  dragged  forth  by  a  ruth- 
less band  to  the  martyr's  stake.  But  in  this  he 
has  done  nothing  to  deserve  censure;  he  has 
done  nothing  but  his  duty.  Thus  his  master 
went  to  the  cross,  condemned  as  a  malefactor, 
and  yet  the  Son  ol  God — '*-holy,  harmless,  un- 
defiled,  separate  from  sinners,  and  made  higher 
than  the  heavens."  The  guilt  of  such  transac- 
tions rests  elsewhere  than  upon  his  courageous 
spirit.  Under  these  views,  we  have  not  cherish- 
ed the  smallest  wish,   rashly  to  break  in  upon 


279 

the  established  habits  of  society;  nor  even  con- 
templated  such  a  course,  in  the  present  state  of 
things  as  discreet  or  wise,  whoever  might  be 
disposed  to  adopt  it.  Society  is  not  easily  to 
be  managed,  and  its  legislators  must  not  be 
rude,  uninformed,  or  passionate  men;  particu- 
larly in  this  age  and  country,  where  all  classes 
aspire  to  think  for  themselves.  The  Redeemer 
taught  us  a  profound  principle  of  social  govern- 
ment, and  that  in  relation  to  a  similar  state  of 
things  too,  when  he  commanded  his  disciples  to  be 
"wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves."  The-, 
legislative  policy  of  Moses  also,  who  had  tjj. 
control  a  people  of  harsh  character,  and  oi 
inveterate  habit,  deserves  very  serious  conside- 
ration from  men  who  seek  to  be  politicians 
either  in  church  or  state.  We  beg  leave  to  refer 
the  circumstances  of  that  age,  country,  and  peo- 
ple, to  the  careful  and  leisurely  reflection  of  all 
who  take  any  interest  in  our  present  subject. 
Again  we  would  remark,  that  the  ministry  of 
reconciliation  must  not  enter  into  a  judicial  con- 
test with  the  human  powers  of  thought;  nor, 
either  in  pensive  or  boisterous  strains,  call  upon 
church  courts  to  inflict,  what  they  term  '•'•saluta- 
ry discipline,"  on  those  who  do  not  agree  with 
them  in  every  thing.  Peradventure  they  might 
find  this  tiie  most  injudicious  step  they  can  take: 
and  in  doing  it,  might  act  over  the  part,  which 
the  comedian  played  before  Charles  V.  in  per- 
sonating Leo  X.  when  perceiving  a  fire  blazing 
on  the  hearth,  (a  designed  symbol  of  the  re- 
formation) he  was  very  much   agitated,  and  in 


280 

bis  Imny  to  extinguish  it,  mistook  a  bottle  of 
oil  for  a  bottle  of  water.  Excommunication 
and  secession  are  old  foes  to  the  unity  of  the 
church,  which  have  become  feeble  and  decrepid; 
and  it  is  ardently  to  be  desired,  that  their  dying 
gasp  may  exude  no  pestilential  breath  to  inflame 
the  church  into  any  unhallowed  excitement. 
The  ecclesiastical  courts  cannot  shut  us  out  of 
the  church  of  God,  if  we  be  found  obeying  our 
Master's  commandments.  They  can  indeed 
^  forbid  us  to  associate  with  them  in  their  pres- 
j^byteries,  their  synods,  and  their  assemblies;  and 
eVefuse  to  have  any  fellowship  with  us  in  the 
social  movements,  which  are  directed  by  their 
ecclesiastical  authorities.  And  they  may  do  so, 
if  they  please;  for  we  cannot  say  we  believe 
what  we  do  not  believe;  nor  undertake  to  say, 
that  we  do  not  believe  w^hat  we  do  believe. 
They  have  uttered  some  very  plain  hints  on  the 
subject;  but  let  them  remember,  that  if  we  are 
christian  ministers  or  christian  men,  they  must 
give  in  their  account  at  his  tribunal,  who  has 
thought  proper  to  give  us  simply  his  Bible  as 
our  rule.  We  certainly  cannot  leel  indifferent 
about  such  an  issue;  but  if  it  is  accomplished, 
however  much  we  may  regret  it,  we  are  surely 
not  to  blame.  We  were  placed  in  providential 
circumstances,  which  we  could  not  control ;  and 
have  most  conscientiously  declared  what  we 
believed  to  be  truth.  Had  we  denied  the  Lord 
that  bought  us,  or  habitually  trampled  his  holy 
law  under  our  feet,  then  indeed,  their  discipline 
might  be   found   effectual: — what  they   would 


281 

bind  on  earth,  the  Master  would  bind  in  heaven^ 
and  what  they  would  loose  on  earth,  the^Master 
would  loose  in  heaven.  But  that  they  should 
proceed  to  such  lengths,  and  root  up  a  vine  from 
Christ's  vineyard, — that  they  should  cast  out  of 
the  churcli,  men,  whose  simple  crime  is,  that 
they  have  asserted  that  God  is  the  only  Lord 
of  conscience,  and  his  Bible  the  only  rule  of 
faitli  and  practice,  or  that  church  courts  are  not 
entitled  to  be  Lords  over  God's  heritage,  and  to 
frame  authoritative  rules  for  his  children;  would 
be  such  a  stretch  of  prerogative,  such  an  assump- 
tion of  power,  and  such  an  act  of  oppression, 
that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  justify  it  by  any 
scriptural  statute,  or  apostolic  precedent.  ''Mas- 
ter,"  said  John,  "we  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in 
thy  name,  and  he  followeth  not  us;  and  w^e  for- 
bade him,  because  he  followeth  not  us.  But 
Jesus  said,  forbid  him  not;  for  thf-re  is  no  man 
which  shall  do  a  miracle  in  my  name,  that  can 
lightly  speak  evil  of  me.  For  he  that  is  not 
against  us,  is  on  our  part." 

Neither  may  the  brethren  traduce  us  as  dis- 
ingenuous men,  because  we  do  not  withdraw 
from  their  voluntary  association.  There  is  no- 
thing disingenuous  in  such  conduct.  Was  there 
any  thing  disingenuous  on  the  part  of  Jesus, 
when  he  foj'bade  his  disciples  to  do  the  v\'orks 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  yet  did  not 
require  them  to  withdraw  from  having  any  com- 
munion with  them  in  the  services  of  the  teniple? 
On  the  part  of  Paul,  when  at  one  time  he  circuiii- 

2#- 


282 

cised  Timothy,  and  at  another  time  refused  to 
circumeise  Titus;  or  when  "he  cried  out  in  the 
council,  men  and  brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee,  the 
son  of  a  Pharisee; — of  the  hope  and  resurrection 
of  the  dead  I  am  called  in  question  ?"  Or  on 
the  part  of  Luther,  when  he  did  not  immediate- 
ly withdraw  from  the  ecclesiastical  association, 
against  whose  tyranny  he  had  lifted  up  his  man- 
ly voice?  There  is  nothing  disingenuous  in 
such  conduct.  We  cannot  withdraw,  if  we 
would.  If  we  are  all  living  christians,  w^e  are 
members  of  Christ's  body,  and  every  one  mem- 
bers one  of  another.  "The  eye  cannot  say  to 
the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee:  nor  again  the 
head  to  the  feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you."  We 
cannot  withdraw;  we  are  bound  to  society  by 
the  common  sympathies  which  bind  other  men 
to  one  another;  God  hath  determined  the  bounds 
of  our  habitation  as  well  as  theirs;  we  are  agi- 
tated by  those  feelings,  which,  from  pole  to  pole, 
identify  every  human  being  as  belonging  to  the 
common  mass;  and  we  can  no  more  cease  to  be 
me?i,  than  we  can  cease  to  be  christians.  The 
brethren  may  think  ditierently,  and  they  must 
use  their  pleasure.  We  have  nothing  to  retract, 
nor  yield,  under  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power; 
though  we  are  fully  prepared  to  renounce  every 
thing,  which  we  are  fairly  convinced  is  wrong. 
We  would  further  remark,  that  the  ministry 
should  permit  the  subject  to  be  discussed.  They 
must  remember,  that  all  men  do  not  believe  in 
the  authority  of  human  Creeds;  and  that  many 
are  not  disposed  to  submit  to  them  in  that  form. 


283 

Neither  are  such  men,  in  their  ohioctions,  actnat- 
ed  oy  a" love  of  distinction,  a  lust  for  power,  or  a 
desire  to  occupy  the  seats  of  authority.  Their 
principk^s, their  reasonings,  are  ail  directly  the  re- 
verse, and  are  couched  in  the  most  unequivocal 
terms.  LoVe  of  truth,  and  a  desire  to  do  good,  ani- 
mate  all  their  views;  'lie  wreatli  of  sectarian  glory 
they  will  chceriuliy  «;ive  to  any,  wlio  are  weak 
or  ambitious  enough  to  desire  it;  and  they  can 
never  envy  such  candidates  for  popular  favour 
an  acquisition,  whose  memorials  may  coiistitute 
the  proof  of  their  guilt  in  the  eternal  world. 
And  why  should  not  the  subject  be  discussed? 
Is  it  not  important  enough.'^  Can  truth  suffer 
fr-tm  investigation.'^  Has  the  subject  been  can- 
vassed before  this  generation.''  What  if  it  has 
again  and  again  been  argued  out  in  ages  past.f* 
May  not  every  generation,  may  not  every  indi- 
vi(hial,  insist  upon  hearing  the  testimony  per- 
sonnUy?  Is  it,  after  all,  such  a  wicked  thing, 
that  a  poor  humble  sinner,  should  ask  for  the 
rk>;ld  by  which  human  authority  is  exercised  in 
the  house  of  God.'^  Every  age  should,  uniform- 
ly, without  an  exception,  have  its  documents  to 
pi  oduce — for  the  issue  is  heaven  or  hell.  And  we 
must  not  be  refen  ed  4;o  books,  which  scarcely 
one  man  in  a  million  has  read,  and  which  are 
very  probably  as  inditterent  and  inconclusive  as 
books  which  are  written  in  the  present  day. 

The  subject  is  now  out,  mingling  itself  along 
with  other  topics  of  conversation,  and  occupying 
the  attention  of  society; — it  therefore  must  be 
discussed.     If  the  public  mind,  after  weighing 


2S4> 

the  matter  of  controversy,  should  determine  in 
favour  oi"  Creeds  aud  Confessions,  they  will  then 
come  into  the  church  w  ith  new  glory,  and  rei^^n 
over  human  intellect  wnth  resistless  power-,  if 
the  determination  should  reverse  the  public  de- 
cision, then  it  will  be  a  vain  effort  for  church 
courts  to  enforce  them.  Let  the  public  mind 
be  enlightened  on  the  subject,  and  no  difficulty 
can  remain,  either  on  the  question  of  abandon- 
ing, or  of  establishing,  these  instruments  of  sec- 
tarian operation.  When  we  speak  of  the  pub- 
lic mind  being  enlightened  on  this  subject,  suffer 
us  to  guard  against  a  peevish  criticism,  w^hich 
may  perhaps  be  incurred;  for  we  do  not  admire 
the  present  method  of  reviewing  opinions,  by 
saying  every  severe  thing  that  can  be  uttered 
against  their  authors. — We  mean  by  the  public 
mind  being  enlightened,  that  every  man  should 
be  capable  of  passing  an  intelligent  opinion  on 
the  subject,  before  he  undertakes  to  speak  deci- 
sively about  it.  And  if,  under  such  a  process 
of  intellectual  examination,  human  Creeds  must 
fall,  they  do  not  deserve  a  tear.  If  they  cannot 
endure  this  ordeal,  let  them  be'Buffered  to  meet 
their  doom  without  a  sigh.  God  can  govern  his 
own  church  much  better»than  any  ecclesiastical 
assemblies,  w^ho,  distrustful  of  mere  Bible  legis- 
lation, would  furnish  us  with  decrees  and  rules 
of  their  own. 

Once  more  we  would  remark,  that  ecclesias- 
tical history,  and,  as  it  is  called.  Biblical  litera- 
ture, are  not  the  primary  studies  of  a  young  man, 
devoting  himself  to  the  ministiy;  nor  yet  of  an 


285 

«Icl  man,  already  fully  recognised  as  an  officer  in 
the  church.  Neither  does  systematic  theolojjy, 
according  to  its  received  sense,  comprise  all  that 
remains.  Perhaps  this  last  branch  of  ministe- 
rial education,  is  the  most  popular  form  of  study, 
by  which  young  men  are  trained  and  disciplined 
for  the  pulpit;  and,  as  every  age  has  demonstrat- 
ed, it  is  one  of  the  most  successful  expedients, 
which  could  have  been  devised,  to  perpetuate 
sectarian  strife.  It  was  the  happiness  of  the 
philosophic  Origen,  to  acquire  great  reputation, 
in  an  attempt  to  make  Christianity  a  system  of 
philosophy,  rather  than  a  system  of  morals, 
whose  sum  and  substance  is  love.  And  any  de- 
nomination of  men,  who  may  imitate  his  exam- 
ple,— which  ecclesiastical  history  has  held  up 
as  a  beacon  to  warn  all  future  generations — and 
adopt  any  human  system  of  philosophy  as  a  text 
book,  rather  than  the  scriptures,  may  acquire 
even  superior  reputation;  but  they  will,  at  the 
same  time,  do  proportion  ably  greater  mischief. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  students  in  theology  should 
be  directed  to  analyse  the  subject- matter  of  the 
Bible  for  tJiemselces,  and  investigate  truth  in  its 
scriptural  connexions^  instead  of  receiving  it 
from  the  laboured  systems  of  men,  the  whole 
course  of  a  young  man's  studies  would  be  en- 
tirely altered;  and,  by  being  thrown  on  his  own 
resources,  he  would  show  what  his  mind  and 
conscience  are  worth.  His  intellectual  inde- 
pendence would  elevate  his  personal  character, 
and  extend  the  sphere  of  his  ministerial  useful- 
ne^3s.     Mind  must  always  wither  when  it  is  en- 


286 

slaved.  Men,  when  they  become  christians,  are 
still  men;  and  relio;ion,  like  every  other  human 
concern,  is  sustained  by  them  on  the  common 
principles  of  their  nature.  If  then  they  are 
compelled  to  acquire  their  ideas  on  religious 
subiects  from  the  books  of  others;  or  have,  either 
from  indolence  or  timidity,  learned  that  this  is 
the  easiest  and  safest  way  to  meet  the  popular 
notions  of  their  sect,  how  can  they  feel  them- 
selves unshackled  and  free?  Not  to  be  free  to 
speak^  is  not  to  be  free  to  Ihink;  and  not  to  be 
free  to  think,  is  the  most  debasing  of  all  slavery. 
That  young  men  then  should  be  required  to 
adopt  systems,  which  others  have  framed  for 
them,  or  be  excluded  from  official  stations  in  the 
church,  is  the  most  injurious  of  all  rules;  and 
that  such  a  rule  should  be  couched  in  mere 
terms  of  respect  for  the  fatJiers^  is  the  least  mag- 
nanimous of  all  human  ideas  Surely  God  never 
intended  that  fathers  should  be  lords  over  the 
consciences  of  their  children. 

We  have  now  closed  our  remarks  on  Creeds 
and  Confessions  of  Faith.  They  were  com- 
menced, from  a  sincere  desire  to  glorify  God, 
and  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  church.  If 
such  high  motives  cannot  be  conceded  to  us,  we 
shall  still  enjoy  the  calmness  which  springs 
from  the  consciousness  of  possessing  them.  We 
have  not,  in  any  thing,  intentionally  sought  to 
wound  the  feelings,  or  injure  the  good  name,  of 
any  of  our  brethren.  The  scriptures  have  call- 
ed upon  ministers  and  christians  to  act  in  a  very 
different  manner  towards  each  other: — '"Speak 


2B7 

I 
uyt  evil  one  of  another,  brethreu.  He  that 
sp  :aketh  evil  of  his  brother,  and  judgetii  his 
brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law  and  judg- 
eth  the  law;  but  if  thou  judge  the  law,  thou  art 
not  a  doer  of  the  law,  but  a  judge."  And  how 
happy  might  the  church  be,  if  this  rule  was 
more  generally  fuUiiled  than  it  is.  For,  "'the 
wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then 
peaceable,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full 
of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  partiality, 
and  without  hypocrisy.  And  the  fruit  of  righte- 
ousness is  sown  in  peace  of  them  that  make 
peace." 

And  now,  may  God,  our  Heavenly  Father, 
bless  them  who  have  not  blessed  us!  May  it 
please  hnn  to  lead  those  to  chief  seats  in  his 
ehurch  triumphant  in  glory,  who  seem  disposed 
to  shut  us  out  from  his  church  militant  on  earth* 
May  he  fill  their  hearts  with  gladness,  and  their 
mouths  with  praise,  throughout  their  eartiiiy 
pilgrimage;  and  endow  them  with  all  those  mor- 
al capacities,  which  shall  qualify  them  to  nerve 
him  in  the  most  exalted  sphere!  May  they  be 
fciund  clothed  with  '•'•the  righteousness  of  the 
saints,"  "-'when  the  heaven"  shall  have  ^^depart- 
ed  as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together;  and 
every  mountain  and  island"  shall  be  ''moved 
out  of  their  places,"  and  this  song  shall  be  .sung 
throu!i;hout  the  whole  kingdom  of  Immanuel,— r- 
Deatu  is  swallowed  up  in  victorf. 

THE  END. 


